Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized on Tuesday to a former government official who claimed she had been raped two years ago by a colleague in a minister’s office. The former staffer, Brittany Higgins, claimed in a television interview Monday that a colleague raped her in the office of then Secretary of Defense Industry Linda Reynolds weeks before the 2019 election and that she was not getting the support she needed from bosses or other colleagues.
The man she accused, who is not named, was fired for a security breach by taking Higgins to the secretary’s office and leaving her there on a couch after a night of heavy drinking.
Higgins, who was Reynolds’s media adviser, said she had decided at the time not to file a complaint with the police because she felt the pressure that it would affect her work.
She resigned in January this year, saying she intended to redress her complaint to the police.
“I think resigning is the only thing I can do personally to say that I don’t think anyone else should be going through what I’ve been through,” Higgins told Network Ten.
Morrison said Reynolds should not have questioned Higgins about her charge in the same office where Higgins alleged the rape had taken place.
Mick Tsikas / AP
“That shouldn’t have happened, and I apologize,” Morrison told reporters.
Reynolds, who is now Secretary of Defense, also apologized for bringing up the matter with Higgins in her office, adding that the minister had not done enough to support the then 24-year-old staffer.
“I deeply regret leading the meeting in my office where the alleged incident took place,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds told the Senate that she never gave Higgins a choice between her job and filing a complaint with the police.
Morrison described Higgins’ allegation as a wake-up call to spur change within Parliament House.
“It baffles me that a young woman today is still in the vulnerable situation she found herself in, not in her life,” Morrison said.
“We need to do more, whether in this workplace or any other workplace in the country, to ensure that people can work safely in their place and be their best and do what they went for in that job” , he added.
Morrison has appointed government legislator Celia Hammond to work with political parties to investigate Parliament House culture, improve workplace standards and protect staff.
An automatic reporting requirement to department officials will be instituted for such an allegation, Morrison said.
Morrison said he first learned of the Higgins allegation on Monday and his office didn’t hear about it until Friday last week.
The opposition wondered how Morrison could continue to have faith in Reynolds, since she hadn’t told him about the alleged rape.
“I understand that the minister has acted in good faith to Brittany and has wanted to support Brittany,” Morrison replied.
Higgins issued a press statement on Tuesday thanking Morrison for his apologies.
“The Prime Minister’s announcement of an inquiry into the culture in Parliament House is a welcome first step, although it should have been a long time coming,” Higgins said.
“It should not have aired my story, or the story of other victims of victims, on national television for the Prime Minister – or any other Member of Parliament – to take action against sexual harassment, assault or bullying at work,” she added to.
Parliament House needed an independent reporting mechanism for staff so they could confidently and safely file complaints, Higgins said.
The Associated Press does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual assault, but Higgins has chosen to identify himself in the media.
Polls indicated that Morrison’s conservative coalition government lost power in the 2019 election, which took place weeks after the alleged rape. But the government won a narrow victory.