Tanya Plibersek says she does not respect Prime Minister Scott Morrison as she criticised his handling of the Brittany Higgins rape allegations.
Speaking with Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell, the Shadow Education Minister described the treatment of the former Liberal staffer as “appalling”.
Brittany Higgins was a media advisor to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds when she says she was sexually assaulted by a male Liberal Party staffer in the Minister’s office, following a night of drinking.
Ms Plibersek said the government had failed Ms Higgins, noting Scott Morrison had “really let her down”.
“He is a clever politician who will do anything to stay prime minister,” she said.
“There is a lot of people on the other side of politics that I like and respect, he’s not one of them.”
Victoria launches Royal Commission into Crown
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The Victorian Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Melissa Horne, has announced a Royal Commission into allegations against Crown Resorts raised by the NSW Bergin report.
The Royal Commission will be undertaken by Raymond Finkelstein QC and will also include consideration of the establishment of a separate casino regulator, as recommended by the Bergin report for NSW.
Government focuses on strategic shaping as DFAT drops soft-power review aspistrategist.org.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspistrategist.org.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who worked for then Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, claims she was raped after a night out with coworkers in 2019 when she was 24.
Time for leaders to call out sexual harassment and listen to victims
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When a High Court-commissioned investigation confirmed last year that former justice Dyson Heydon, one of the country’s most prominent jurists, had sexually harassed six female staff members, it sent shockwaves through the legal profession and the wider community.
It seemed an irony that a man entrusted with the solemn task of upholding the law could so abuse his position, and could do so for a decade with apparent impunity.
But Mr Heydon’s power was integral to his behaviour. In his most detailed remarks since the scandal broke, former High Court judge Kenneth Hayne, QC – whose 18 years on the bench encompassed Mr Heydon’s stint from 2003 to 2013 – says sexual harassment must be “called out for what it is: an abuse of power”.