It’s hard to believe that Brittany Higgins’ allegations were made only this year – so much unacceptable behaviour by Australian men in politics has been unearthed since then, it’s hard to keep track of it all. So by popular demand from Zee Feed’s Instagram followers, here’s the super summary of every ‘sex scandal’ currently facing the Australian government.
‘Sex scandal’ isn’t the right term, but we’re not sure of the most concise phrase to use in place of “workplace-incidents-that-reveal-a-culture-of-male-entitlement-to-womens-bodies-and-abuses-of-power.” Welcome to any suggestions!
First, a few notes:
- This is not a partisan list – we’ve included credibly reported incidents about any political party. This is an issue facing politics, an extremely male-dominated workforce, as a whole. However, that the Liberal Party features so heavily does indicate that it has created a particularly concentrated version of this culture.
- We’ve tried to capture every current politician whose behaviour is relevant to the current national discussion.
- Content Warning: Please read on with care, as this article discusses sexual assault and child sexual assault.
If you think we’ve missed someone (particularly state-level politicians) feel free to send an email with a link to: hey@zeefeed.com.au. Latest update: 23 March 2022.
Liberal Party
Eric Abetz, Liberal Senator
Abetz has been accused of making slut-shaming and victim-blaming comments about Brittany Higgins, and unsavoury comments about Christian Porter’s deceased alleged victim. Abetz denies the claim.
Tasmanian State Senator Sue Hickey made the allegation under Parliamentary privilege.
Michaelia Cash, Liberal Attorney General
Michaelia Cash, who has just been promoted to Attorney General in the wake of Christian Porter being accused of rape, is being sued for workplace harrassment.
Rachelle Miller alleges that Minister Cash forced her out with a ‘fake redundancy’ process, because of Miller’s affair with Minister Alan Tudge.
Andrew Laming, Liberal MP
Andrew Laming has a list of incidents so long it’s genuinely difficult to understand how he hasn’t been fired. He has been accused of the following:
- Sustained harassment of QLD Labor MP Kim Richards, including behaviours that may be considered stalking
- Online harassment of two female constituents, including making serious defamatory statements about one of the women. When forced to apologise publicly, just hours later Laming said his apology was meaningless
- Taking an ‘upskirt’ photo of a woman at her workplace without her consent. This is a criminal offence, although after speaking to police the woman has said she will not proceed
Scott Morrison and his party room refused to remove Laming, despite having the power to do so. However, Morrison has chosen not to do this, and allow him to serve out his term. Laming will not stand for re-election.
Scott Morrison, Prime Minister
Ultimately, Morrison is responsible for the conduct of every Coalition staffer and politician mentioned on this list. He has been accused of mishandling every complaint raised under his Prime Ministership – including refusing to stand down Laming or Porter, despite the very serious nature of the allegations against them, and failing to implement an independent review into the workplace culture at Parliament House and within the Coalition. So far, in the wake of Brittany Higgins’ allegations Morrison has only commissioned internal reviews – one of which has already been stopped.
Teena McQueen, Liberal vice-president
In a meeting to discuss the new code of conduct for the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, McQueen said: “I would kill to be sexually harassed at the moment” and “let’s talk about women not getting drunk at work”.
McQueen says the first comment was a poorly executed attempt at a joke relating to her age, and the second was not in reference to any particular incident. The senior female staffers in attendance at the meeting said they believed it was a reference to Brittany Higgins.
Christian Porter, former Attorney General and Liberal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology
Porter allegedly raped a 16-year-old in 1988, when he was 17 years old. He denies the allegation; because NSW Police do not believe there is enough evidence to investigate, and the victim tragically took her own life in 2020, we will likely never know the truth of these events.
Porter decided to not continue with his defamation lawsuit against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan for reporting the allegations – for what it’s worth, he ended proceedings the day before the judge was to decide whether the court proceedings would be made public.
Porter insists that he will stand for re-election.
Linda Reynolds, Liberal Minister for Defence
Linda Reynolds has been accused of mishandling Brittany Higgins’ sexual assault complaint – treating it as a ‘political problem’ rather than a serious criminal complaint.
She called Higgins a ‘lying cow’ on the day the allegations were made public.
Alan Tudge, Liberal Minister for Education and Youth
Tudge was one of the key MPs whose behaviour was the focus of the now infamous ABC Four Corners Inside the Canberra Bubble report. Tudge had a consensual extramarital affair with Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller, who claims that she was bullied and belittled by him. Miller is suing Tudge and Michaelia Cash for workplace harassment.
Updated: 2 December 2021. Following the Jenkins ‘Setting the Standard’ report, Miller went public with more detail on the emotional and physical abuse Tudge put her through during their affair. In light of this, Tudge has been asked to stand down from this Ministerial duties while an independent investigation into the allegations is conducted. In September 2022, the Commonwealth settled Miller’s bullying and harrassment claims with a $650,000 payment.
Gareth Ward, NSW Liberal-turned-Independent MP
In late March 2022, Ward was charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of common assault, and one count of sexual intercourse without consent. Ward stepped down in 2021 while police were investigating the historical incidents, allegedly committed against two individuals – a 27-year-old man and 17-year-old boy. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is seeking to have him removed from Parliament, which would mean a by-election in Ward’s seat of Kiama.
Unnamed Liberal Staffer (accused of raping Brittany Higgins)
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleges that she was raped inside Parliament House by a more senior male staffer in 2019. Her alleged attacker was fired over a ‘security breach’ – although there is no consistent story about what this security breach was.
Unnamed Liberal Staffer (the ‘Desk Masturbator’) & Friends
A senior Liberal aide filmed himself masturbating onto the desk of a female Liberal MP. He was fired after a whistleblower leaked explicit photos and videos to the media, taken from a group chat where male Liberal staffers would regularly trade similar material.
Unnamed Former Coalition MP (bringing a sex worker into Parliament House)
The same whistleblower report alleged that a former Coalition MP booked a sex worker to provide services to him inside Parliament House. He asked his aide/staffer to sign the sex worker into Parliament House.
Unnamed Liberal Staffer (to then-Labor MP Kate Ellis)
Former Labor Minister for Women, Youth, and Sport, Kate Ellis has revealed that in her first weeks a Liberal staffer asked her: “…how many blokes you fucked in order to get into parliament?”
Unnamed Liberal Minister (accused of inappropriately touching Julia Banks)
Former Liberal MP Julia Banks alleged in her new memoir that a Coalition Cabinet Minister put his hand on her knee “and edged slowly and deliberately to my inner thigh and then further up my leg” during a Parliamentary vote session in 2017. She did not name the man, saying she feared the legal repercussions, but said that is a current Minister.
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Nationals
James Hayward, WA Nationals MP
WA Nationals MP James Hayward has been charged with multiple child sex offences. The Nationals have suspended his membership and stood him down from duties. He was not required to enter a plea, and a trial date is still TBC.
Michael Johnsen, NSW Nationals MP
NSW State MP Johnsen allegedly raped a sex worker in 2020. He has denied the claims and is cooperating with the NSW Police investigation into the incident.
It’s been revealed he had been texting the sex worker during Question Time in NSW Parliament.
Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader
Now that Joyce is once again Deputy Prime Minister, it’s worth noting the allegations that forced him to resign from the position in 2018. While many attribute Joyce’s resignation to the extramarital affair with his staff member Vikki Campion, who was pregnant with his child, it was actually due to sexual harassment investigation. WA businesswoman Catherine Marriott lodged a sexual harassment complaint against Joyce with the National Party in February 2018 –the Nats internal investigation into the incident was “inconclusive”. The party decided to keep the final report confidential.
Coalition (not identified as either Liberal or National)
4x Unnamed Coalition MPs (allegedly harassed Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe)
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe alleges that, since being elected to the Senate in September 2020, she has been sexually harassed by two Coalition MPs and two Coalition Senators.
Senator Thorpe says she doesn’t feel safe in Parliament House on her own at night.
Unnamed Coalition MP (allegedly harassed Nationals MP Anne Webster)
Anne Webster has lodged a formal complaint to the Nationals leadership, about a Coalition MP who has allegedly harassed her. She has also spoken to the MP, who has assured her it “won’t happen again.”
Labor Party
Dustin Halse, VIC Labor MP
In March it was alleged that an unnamed Labor MP had sex in a parliamentary office in 2020. On 21 June 2021, Liberal MP James Newbury used parliamentary privilege to name the Dustin Halse as the person in question. Halse sits on the Integrity and Oversight Committee – ironic.
David O’Byrne, Former Tasmanian Labor Leader
Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston used parliamentary privilege to name former Tasmanian Labor leader David O’Byrne as the man accused of sexually harassing six women. One of the alleged victims is Johnston’s sister, and the sexual harassment claims span from 2007 to 2020. O’Byrne denies some of the claims; he acknowledges that he acted inappropriately with Johnston’s sister, but he believed it was consensual.
Bill Shorten, Former Labor Leader
In 2014, Bill Shorten was accused of raping Kathy Sherriff in 1986, when she was 16 years old. The incident was investigated by Victoria Police, which Shorten took part in – ultimately police did not proceed with charges due to “no reasonable prospect of conviction.”
The allegations resurfaced again in 2019 prior to the Federal election, and again now that Christian Porter is faces similar allegations.
Unnamed Labour MPs (from Labor Women’s Facebook group)
Current and former Labor MPs and staffers made numerous allegations of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and at least one allegation of sexual assault in a private Facebook group. All incidents were allegedly committed by Labor men – either senior staffers of MPs.
Both Labor Leader Anthony Albanese, and Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek, have urged the women to make formal complaints so the allegations can be pursued.
Unnamed Non-Liberal MPs (groped Senator Hollie Hughes)
Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes revealed she was groped by an ‘opposition’ MP (the implication is the person was a Labor MP, not currently serving) while she was working as a staffer.
