Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday vowed to tackle toxic workplace culture and bring about change amidst a nationwide outcry over videos leaked by a whistleblower of staffers performing lewd sexual acts, including on a female lawmaker’s desk, in parliament.
The latest incident comes on the heels of former staff member Brittany Higgins accusing an official of sexual assault inside parliament. Ms Higgins said she feared she would lose her job if she reported the incident.
The graphic videos aired by Australia’s Ten News and leaked by a parliament insider, show staff members performing sexual acts in the building, including masturbating on a woman legislator’s desk, which they filmed and allegedly shared among themselves.
The parliament insider told Ten News the staffers shared such videos so frequently, that he had become "immune" to it. He also revealed that they used the prayer room to have sex and even brought sex workers into parliament.
He said there was a “culture of men thinking that they can do whatever they want” and while he did not think the staffers had broken any laws, he says “morally, they are bankrupt.”
Investigations were launched over allegations levied by Ms Higgins, however, an inquiry into contact between Mr Morrison’s political staff and her has been paused stating that it may disrupt a criminal investigation by the Australian federal police, which is investigating the rape allegation.
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Mr Morrison on Tuesday fired a senior aide at the centre of the video controversy, labelled it a “disgusting and sickening” act. The identity of the aide was not revealed.
“The actions of these individuals show a staggering disrespect for the people who work in parliament, and for the ideals, the parliament is supposed to represent,” Mr Morrison said in a statement. “It’s not good enough, and is totally unacceptable.”
"We must get this house in order. We must put the politics aside on these things, and we must recognise this problem, acknowledge it, and we must fix it," he said, adding that he was “shocked” by the videos.
Last week women took part in a huge rally in the country against sexual violence and the conservative government’s handling of such incidents. Mr Morrison was criticised for refusing to meet the protesters.
