Police investigating 15 claims against federal MPs and staff, including sexual assault
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Police are investigating 15 claims of misconduct involving federal politicians or their staff, including sexual assaults, as investigators prepare a brief of evidence about former staffer Brittany Higgins’ allegations she was raped in Parliament House.
The Australian Federal Police has received 40 reports relating to 19 incidents of possible misconduct involving federal MPs and their staff after commissioner Reece Kershaw wrote to politicians advising them all serious incidents should be referred to authorities.
AFP boss Reece Kershaw says the police investigation into Brittany Higgins’ allegations is reaching its final stages.
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Police have received 19 new complaints about potential crimes involving federal MPs and political staffers, including a series allegedly committed in government buildings.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed the new reports on Tuesday, telling a Senate estimates hearing a brief of evidence on the Brittany Higgins rape case will soon be handed to prosecutors, potentially paving the way for criminal charges.
Former political staffer Brittany Higgins. A brief of evidence on her rape case will soon be handed to prosecutors.
Dominic Lorrimer
Separately, Scott Morrison’s chief of staff said he had found no evidence senior members of the Prime Minister’s staff had spread damaging information about the former Liberal staffer’s partner, according to a newly released internal report.
The safety of political staffers is again in the spotlight after police confirmed they d received 40 reports of alleged sexual misconduct involving federal MPs and workers in the past three months.
The complaints relate to 19 separate allegations, made through an 1800 police hotline established after the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.
The AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw wasn t able to tell Senate Estimates whether any of the alleged incidents had occurred inside Parliament House, where Ms Higgins was allegedly sexually assaulted in March 2019.
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The complaints were reported to a hotline established after the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.(Dominic Lorrimer)
It turns out that
Peter Dutton‘s office was tipped off about an alleged sexual assault inside Parliament House as early as October 2019, well over year before Dutton claims to have personally learned about the alleged rape of
Brittany Higgins, News.com.au reports.
When the rest of Australia learned about Higgins’ historic rape allegations earlier this year, politicians tripped over themselves to state how they didn’t know about it until it became national news.
That included Dutton, who said he was only told about the allegations on February 11 this year. He was the Minister for Home Affairs at the time.
40 sex misconduct complaints in federal politics gladstoneobserver.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gladstoneobserver.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.