Public anger mounts after report of lewd acts in Australian parliament

Public anger mounts after report of lewd acts in Australian parliament

The acts include men filming themselves performing solo sex acts, including on the desk of a female MP.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison describes the report as ‘disgusting’.  (AP pic)
CANBERRA:
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday acknowledged mounting dissatisfaction with his handling of a series of allegations about the mistreatment of women in politics, as he vowed to drive cultural change.

Morrison’s comments came just hours after The Australian newspaper and Channel 10 reported allegations and images from an anonymous whistleblower about lewd behaviour by male government staff in Parliament House.

They included the men filming themselves performing solo sex acts, including on the desk of a female Member of Parliament.

One government staff member has been removed from his position, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Morrison described the report as “disgusting” and said he would speak with all government staff members on Tuesday to remind them of their responsibilities.

The ruling Liberal/National coalition has come under sustained pressure in recent weeks following allegations of rape by a Liberal party staff member, including one in the office of a Cabinet minister.

The issue spurred tens of thousands of people to rally around Australia last week and led to a slump in Morrison’s standing in opinion polls.

Morrison has sought to defend his government’s actions in working to improve gender equality, but on Tuesday he accepted there was broad dissatisfaction.

“I acknowledge that many Australians, especially women, believe that I have not heard them, and that greatly distresses me,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

“We must do better… we must get this house in order.”

However, he offered few concrete proposals to improve the workplace culture in parliament, insisting that changes would be announced in the coming weeks.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.