The minister for women at the time of the incident, Kelly O'Dwyer, who retired from politics at the 2019 election, wasn't told of the alleged assault. Reynolds's chief of staff was also informed of the security breach by security staff in the Ministerial Wing. Higgins says one staffer told her she had been "found" by a security guard who entered the minister's office suite early on Sunday morning. She was in a sufficiently bad state, it seemed, that the security guard came back twice during the night to check in on her. Many of those he is now tasked with investigating are people he has worked closely alongside. She was just a few weeks into a new job as a media adviser with the then-defence industry minister, Senator Reynolds, and wanted to get to know her new colleagues better. "He was angry this week, I can tell you, behind the scenes at his staff and the way in which he wasn't briefed and provided that information," Mr Dutton told the Today show. But it also speaks to the more basic questions of the culture of accountability in politics, and of competent management. She remembers entering the office and lying down on the Minister's couch. DPS said it learned of the alleged rape when the Australian Federal Police (AFP) sought security camera vision. Senior government figures … At the political heart of the harrowing personal story of a young woman allegedly being raped on the couch of a minister's office in Parliament House is the idea that, beyond the assault itself, the incident may have been covered up, and the young woman made to feel a political liability. Mr Morrison has repeatedly insisted his office did not find out about the alleged rape until February 12 this year. a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Laura Tingle is 7.30's chief political correspondent. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said no one in his office knew about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, but newly released text messages appear to … Vaccination rollout could see home quarantine factor as an option for returning Australians, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds apologises to Brittany Higgins for calling her a 'lying cow', Sex discrimination commissioner to lead Parliament House inquiry triggered by Brittany Higgins, Why schools can't be the only answer when it comes to tackling sexual assault, Detective says police considered possibility 'rogue shooters' killed missing Victorian High Country pair, First locally made AstraZeneca vaccine doses rolling out from March 22, Why Italy's Australian vaccine ban matters even if we're making our own, Prince Philip moved back to private hospital after 'successful' heart procedure, 'An emblematic trip': Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for first-ever papal visit of Iraq. There has long been a concern within sections of the Liberal Party that there are not enough women in senior roles. FacebookTwitter Brittany Higgins will make a formal complaint with the Australian Federal Police over the night in which she alleges she was raped by a colleague within Parliament House. According to Brittany Higgins, at least two fellow staffers had been informed that something had happened in the office in the days after the alleged assault on the night of March 22, 2019, because there had been a security breach reported in the office. There are also text messages that appear to show a senior member of the Prime Minister's staff was "mortified" after hearing of the incident in April 2019, though that staff member now says he doesn't remember a rape allegation being made. When did they find out? The longer the government dissembles, obfuscates and straight up lies like a motherfucker about the rape of Brittany Higgins, the more confused the story and event sequence can seem. However, some of the minister's supporters insist she has no intention of going anywhere. "I have only been made aware of key elements of my own sexual assault as a result of coming forward publicly with my story," she said in a statement this week. The allegations this week have added to sustained and persistent calls for sweeping changes to the workplace culture in the corridors of power. After I wrote about former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, I knew they would come: emails and tweets asking why Higgins didn’t pursue criminal charges when the alleged sexual assault occurred. It means that people she worked for, people she looked up to, who she expected to treat her properly, haven't. "By withholding information, what she is continuing is the cover-up that has been underway for two years, which has been the cause of much trauma to Ms Higgins," Gallagher said. In fact, DPS claims it wasn't made aware of an alleged sexual assault until April 18 — almost four weeks after the incident. "I want a comprehensive police investigation … and for my perpetrator to face the full force of the law," she added. This has fuelled a perception that the incident was seriously mishandled by the Federal Government and parliamentary authorities. Young Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins broke her silence this week, claiming she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House and brought to a formal employment meeting about the incident in the room where the alleged 2019 sexual assault occurred. The Opposition says parts of the government's response to the issue have not been credible so far. Who knew? He is aiming to find out what and when staff in the Prime Minister's Office knew about Ms Higgins' complaint, potentially going so far as to look at phone records. Download the ABC News app for all the latest. Former government staffer Brittany Higgins on Friday announced she will lay a formal complaint to trigger a police investigation into her alleged 2019 rape by a colleague in Parliament House. About Us. Ms Higgins says she felt pressured to choose between going to the police or continuing a promising career in politics. But pinging the Prime Minister for not knowing about it shouldn't be the only test here. "He was right to be angry, if he has been misled then that's a different level for him to deal with.". Brittany Higgins (pictured) went public last week with the allegation she was raped by a male colleague inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' … It's nearly a week since former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins went public with her bombshell allegation she was raped by a colleague in a minister's office. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. After an episode of Four Corners aired late last year, the Prime Minister had another chance to send a … This is despite Higgins stating that she had not yet asked police to re-activate the investigation into the incident (which she did late on Friday), and gave the Opposition permission to ask questions of the minister this week about the episode. Several backbenchers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, argue that at a minimum, Senator Reynolds should have offered to go with Ms Higgins to the police immediately following the incident and formally reported it to the Prime Minister's Office. Her allies say Senator Reynolds feels she had been hung out to dry by Morrison last Tuesday when he said he'd made his unhappiness known about not being informed earlier about Ms Higgins' claim of sexual assault. "I didn't know security guards let me into Minister Reynolds' suite. And what, if anything, did they do about it? Meanwhile, a former colleague of the man who allegedly raped Brittany Higgins says he was temporarily allowed back into parliament in 2019 as a registered lobbyist. Download the ABC News app for all the latest. "This is another example of her lack of judgement and another sign she's just not up to the job.". Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the reviews were welcome but warned that, "there is no substitute for action" and that change would only come if there was zero tolerance for bad behaviour. I was very candid. The Opposition has claimed the handling of the incident points to a "culture of cover-up". But many questions remain unanswered, and some assertions are hotly contested. A statement tabled by the Prime Minister on Monday said, "as part of this process, the Prime Minister's office provided support to Minister Reynolds and her office in assessing a breach of the Statement of Standards for Ministerial Staff by the other staff member involved in the incident". Vaccination rollout could see home quarantine factor as an option for returning Australians, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds apologises to Brittany Higgins for calling her a 'lying cow', Sex discrimination commissioner to lead Parliament House inquiry triggered by Brittany Higgins, Why schools can't be the only answer when it comes to tackling sexual assault, Detective says police considered possibility 'rogue shooters' killed missing Victorian High Country pair, First locally made AstraZeneca vaccine doses rolling out from March 22, Why Italy's Australian vaccine ban matters even if we're making our own, Prince Philip moved back to private hospital after 'successful' heart procedure, 'An emblematic trip': Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for first-ever papal visit of Iraq, even after a media report on Friday of a text message. This week's revelation about the story of the young Coalition staffer Brittany Higgins, who says she was raped in 2019, is spoken of as one that reflects an appalling workplace culture for women in Canberra's Parliament House. That's because the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) says that at that stage it didn't know. News.com.au broke the … Morrison has asked his department head to review what all members of his staff did know. Ms Higgins also now wants a role in reviewing the protections given to political advisers and says she is determined no other person goes through the trauma she experienced. Some of the Prime Minister's closest and most trusted advisers are now in the public spotlight, and there are a number of government backbenchers who believe the Defence Minister Linda Reynolds must resign or be sacked. Ms Higgins said that “getting to the bottom of what happened to me and how the system failed me is critical to creating a new framework for political staff that ensures genuine cultural change and restores the trust of staff,” Ms Higgins said. Senator Reynolds is now under enormous pressure over her handling of the incident, and a number of Coalition MPs and senators think she should resign or be sacked. Ms Higgins remembers being bought a lot of drinks by a male colleague who she says was regarded as a "rising star" within Liberal Party politics. The following week, Ms Higgins was called into a formal meeting. Senator Reynolds apologised to Ms Higgins in the parliament on Tuesday. Brittany Higgins was 24 years old and in her dream job as a ministerial media adviser to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds when she was allegedly … Brittany Higgins was just 24 and had started in Reynolds’ office, three weeks before she arranged Friday night drinks with some new colleagues and invited the adviser to join them. Brittany Higgins spoke out in a TV interview on Monday that has prompted shock and outrage over her treatment. I didn't know that they debated calling an ambulance at the time of the incident," she said. In that meeting they asked me to recount the events of that night. It is an assertion doubted by two former prime ministers. It’s pretty fucking simple, actually. A lot of focus right now is on what the Prime Minister's team knew about this incident. Members of a parliamentary committee were also briefed that some incident had taken place because of confidential submissions made to the inquiry. Mr Porter strongly denies any wrongdoing. Ms Higgins said it was on that day she learned the alleged rapist had been dismissed over those "breaches". The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate both became aware of an "incident" that was prompting the police to ask for CCTV footage, in April of 2019. She asked that they handle their investigations in a "timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice". The first is being led by Stephanie Foster, a deputy secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. I didn't know they were undertaking an internal review into how the matter was handled at the time. The third is a cross-party process that will examine what can be done to better support staff in Canberra. "The AFP was able to establish that both DPS and Parliamentary Security Services (PSS) staff were involved in the response to this incident, and that there were no disclosures of sexual assault made on the day of the incident and therefore actions taken by them were not in response to a suspected crime," the AFP wrote in correspondence to Senate President Scott Ryan and House Speaker Tony Smith in June last year. And Senator Reynolds does nothing — nothing — to dissuade us from that view by not answering. "And those matters go to the conduct of this minister: When did she know? Brittany Higgins appeared on The Project last night, opening up about the allegations, and said she felt betrayed by the Government as she tried to process what had happened that night.