SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday he was “sickened” by the allegations of sexual harassment in Parliament House, stressing that there was a “culture” problem at the building.
This came in the wake of reports that a second woman had revealed she had been assaulted by the same man who was accused of raping a former media adviser to the government.
Brittany Higgins, in a statement reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) on Friday, said that the man had raped her two years ago in parliament.
Morrison tendered an apology to Higgins on Tuesday for the manner in which her complaint was treated at that time and ordered an investigation into the government’s workplace culture.
“I think we’ve got a problem in the parliament and the workplace culture that exists there,” he told media persons in Sydney on Saturday. “We would be naive to think it’s not a challenge that other workplaces face all around the country, but I agree the parliament should be setting the standard.”
Higgins told the broadcaster she was raped by an unnamed colleague who too worked for the Liberal party of Morrison, adding that she would lodge a formal complaint with the police.
“These events truly do sicken me… as they should anyone,” Morrison said. “That is why I’m seeking to try to address this as swiftly but as effectively as we possibly can.”
There were media reports on Saturday that a second woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by the same man in 2020 after he had been fired following the rape allegation. The second attack at the woman’s home after the two had been out for dinner.