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After weeks of intense public pressure, Prime Minister Scott Morrison removed Lind Reynolds as Secretary of Defense and Christian Porter as Attorney General.
Ch.Porter, chief cabinet attorney and former state attorney, is accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in 1988 with whom he studied. He categorically denies this.
The woman died last June. It was reported that he had committed suicide.
Ms. Reynolds is accused of failing to respond adequately to an investigation into the alleged rape of a member of parliament in her office. The minister publicly called the young woman a “lying cow.”
Reynolds and Porter have obtained certificates of disability and have not worked in recent weeks. Previously, Morrison stated that they would continue in the position after the end of the period of temporary incapacity for work.
Now they will remain in government, but will occupy less important positions. Reynolds will oversee the government services sector and Porter will be in charge of industry, science and technology.
The accusations against Reynolds and Portor in Australia sparked a wave of protests. Tens of thousands of women took to the streets to demand that gender equality be guaranteed and that sexual violence be effectively fought.
A few weeks after the rape allegations came to light, Morrison’s coalition government was rocked by a series of new scandals related to sexual abuse and harassment.
A photo was posted showing an employee masturbating on a MP’s desk, a state MP was charged with raping a prostitute, and another MP apologized for harassing women online.
Morrison’s campaign in the media to show his empathy for women has still spilled oil on the fire due to a series of wrong steps being taken.
In reorganizing the cabinet, S. Morrison also transferred a chain of women to a higher position. According to the Prime Minister, women have never been so well represented in the Australian cabinet.
It is not yet clear whether this step will be enough to quell public outrage over the widespread “toxic” work culture, which includes oppression, harassment and sexual violence, which is deeply ingrained in government.
Morrison, 52, has at least a year to go until the end of his current term, but the recent crisis has damaged his growing popularity as Australia successfully manages the coronavirus pandemic.
Only isolated cases of local infection have been reported in the country and life has practically returned to normal.
The results of a public opinion poll conducted by Newspoll on Sunday showed that the prime minister’s popularity fell to its lowest level in a year.
According to the poll, Morrison’s popularity fell seven percentage points to 55 percent, and his liberal-led coalition lags behind the center-left Labor opposition (52 and 48 percent, respectively).
Other public opinion polls show that more and more women are unfavorable for the prime minister’s job.
The new sheriff in town
Controversial Interior Minister Peter Dutton, an influential right-wing politician who calls for a tougher stance on China because of its growing power in the Asia-Pacific region, will replace Reynolds’ Defense Minister’s portfolio.
Dutton has blatantly blamed Beijing for alleged cyberattacks against Australia and “theft” of intellectual property. He also questioned the real goals of the Chinese Communist Party in the South China Sea and the implementation of the trillion. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a US dollar infrastructure development initiative that finances shipping, rail and road projects in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Former police officer Dutton has backed a tough policy on refugees, angered a close ally in New Zealand by ordering the deportation of his criminal citizens and has repeatedly been embroiled in a public dispute with the Chinese government.
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