Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison supports minister accused of rape

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday supported an unidentified cabinet minister against calls for him to step down on a charge that he raped a 16-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

The impeachment has created a cloud over the 16 men in Morrison’s cabinet of 22 ministers and fuels complaints of a culture within Parliament that is toxic to women.

The accusation was contained in an anonymous letter sent to the prime minister’s office and three female legislators last week.

The letter contained a statement from a plaintiff detailing her claim of a rape that she claimed occurred in the state of New South Wales in 1988.

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The woman, who has not been publicly named, reported the accusation to police before committing suicide in June at age 49.

Morrison said the unnamed cabinet minister “strongly and completely denied the allegations.”

Morrison said he sent the letter to police and discussed the accusation with the federal police commissioner. Morrison said he did not intend to take any further action.

“We can’t have a situation where the mere act of making an accusation and publicity through the media is reason for … governments to turn people away simply because of that,” Morrison said.

The Ministerial Code of Conduct states that “a minister must step aside if that minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal or inappropriate conduct.”

Some within the government argue that because the complainant is dead, her accusation was no longer under official police investigation because she was unlikely to be convicted.

Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, a junior lawmaker from the Australian Greens party who received the anonymous letter, said the minister must resign pending an independent investigation by a former judge.

“It is simply not correct to suggest that these kinds of accusations could persist, hang over the heads of the entire cabinet,” he said.

“Sitting around that table erodes trust, integrity and the belief that this government takes sexual assault seriously,” he added.

Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley, who represented the plaintiff when she brought her accusation to the police, said the accusation cannot be resolved through the criminal justice system because she had died. The minister should resign while an independent investigation investigates the evidence, Bradley said.

“His position is clearly untenable, and he should step aside or stand aside until this matter can be addressed and resolved,” Bradley said.

The revelation comes two weeks after Morrison apologized in Parliament to a former government official who alleged she was raped by a higher-ranking colleague in a minister’s office two years ago.

Brittany Higgins quit her job in January and reactivated her police report after initially failing to pursue the case because she felt it would have affected her employment.

The colleague, who has not been publicly named, was fired for breaching security by taking Higgins into a minister’s office after a night of heavy drinking.

Three other women have made sexual misconduct allegations against the same man since Higgins made his complaint public. A government staff member who alleged he raped her last year told Australian newspaper The Weekend that the attack would not have occurred had the government supported Higgins’s initial complaint.

Morrison responded to Higgins’ public complaints by appointing government legislator Celia Hammond to work with political parties to investigate the culture of Parliament, improve workplace standards and protect staff.

Hammond and opposition Labor Party senator Penny Wong also received anonymous letters about the 1988 rape allegation.

Wong said he met with the whistleblower in 2019 and the whistleblower detailed his accusation against the man, who was not in Parliament in 1988.

“I facilitated her referral to rape support services and confirmed that they were supporting her in reporting the matter to the NSW police,” Wong said.

Morrison said that before being informed of the rape allegation last week, he had heard “rumors” that an investigative reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corp. was “making some inquiries” around November last year when the Four ABC’s Corners broadcast its Inside the Canberra bubble research.

The show accused the ruling Conservative Liberal Party of tolerating and condoning sexual misconduct.

The show exposed an extramarital affair between Population Minister Alan Tudge and an adviser in 2017. It also alleged that Attorney General Christian Porter had been seen “hugging and kissing” a female employee at a Canberra bar, which he denies.

The government has condemned the program. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has asked the ABC board to explain how the program was in the public interest and fulfilled the state broadcaster’s obligation to produce accurate and unbiased journalism.

Where to get help for sexual violence

• Rape crisis 0800 88 33 00, click on the link for local help lines.

• Support for victims 0800 842 846, text 4334, safetotalk.nz web chat or email [email protected].

• Port Online information and support for people affected by sexual abuse.

• Women’s shelter 0800733843 (female only)

• Male survivors Aotearoa Helplines in New Zealand, click for more information (male only).

• If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

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