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at 9:20 am on March 5, 2021 | 147 comments
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is in deep, deep trouble. He thinks he’s fighting a culture war when things have moved far past that. Australia is now the in throes of a generational shift that is rendering the Morrison Government obsolete. It is under sustained attack, quite rightly, from an extraordinary alliance of alleged sexual assault victims and supporters, prominent women in the press, the legal profession, and all decent blokes as well. This is now a revolution not a political problem.
Let’s first reprise the latest news flow. Late yesterday, Morrison completely lost control of the rape narrative. At The Australian:
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has apologised for calling alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins a lying cow .
Senator Reynolds made the tasteless comments in her office area within earshot of several staff members and public servants on February 15.
It was the same day Miss Higgins went public with allegations a senior colleague raped her in Senator Reynolds Parliament House office after a night out in March, 2019.
Miss Higgins threatened to sue over the hurtful comment on Thursday unless the minister, who is on stress leave, apologised.
Senator Reynolds released a statement on Friday saying she was deeply sorry . In response to a letter from Ms Higgins lawyers yesterday afternoon, discussions are now underway through our legal representatives in an effort to resolve this matter as soon as possible, with any resolution to include an apology.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says she is prepared to apologise to former staff member Brittany Higgins after it emerged the minister called her a "lying cow".
In a statement, Minister Reynolds said discussions were now underway through legal representatives to resolve the matter "as soon as possible, with any resolution to include an apology".
"In the meantime, I want to express how deeply sorry I am for these remarks and for any hurt and distress they have caused," she said.
The minister insisted she never questioned Brittany Higgins' account of her alleged sexual assault.
Her cabinet colleagues are standing by her, insisting the comment was not in relation to the allegation.