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RUBY:

From Schwartz Media, I’m Ruby Jones - this is 7am.
This week, Prime MInister Scott Morrison told the women of Australia he was listening to their concerns on the issue of sexual assault and harassment. But in the days that followed the Liberal Party was rocked by more and more allegations of bad behaviour and sexism. Today, contributing editor for The Monthly Rachel Withers, on what this week revealed about Australian politics, and whether Scott Morrison’s actions are living up to his words.

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RUBY:

Rachel, on Tuesday, Scott Morrison, held a pretty extraordinary press conference. And this was really an attempt to finally address the biggest issue that has been facing his government for weeks now - that issue being these rolling revelations and allegations about the sexism, harassment and abuse of women in politics. So tell me about what happened?

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“Good morning everyone. I want to do two things this morning. I want to address again the rather disturbing and continuing…”

RACHEL:

So the prompt for this press conference on Tuesday was a new allegation which emerged on Monday night of, frankly, disgusting, sexist conduct. There was a report from Channel Ten that Coalition staffers had been exchanging photos in a group message, filming themselves masturbating on female MPs desks, and allegations that there was also procurement of male sex workers by staffers for particular MPs. One of those staffers has been sacked, was sacked immediately, and it was obvious that Scott Morrison had to come out and address the media and the public about these disturbing claims - claims that are now emerging from Canberra with increasing regularity.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“I acknowledge that many have not liked or appreciated some of my own personal responses to this over the course of the last month, and I accept that.”

RACHEL:

So the Prime Minister made a couple of things clear in his press conference. He wanted to make it clear to women through tears that he had heard them and that he was listening to them.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“We've been talking about it in this place for a month. They've been living with it for their entire lives. And the women listening to me today know that to be true. So as much as it has been a topic of discussion here and around the country, specifically in relation to these disgraceful acts, it is something that has been the lived experience of Australian women for a very long time. And I welcome the spotlight that is now being placed on this.”

RACHEL:

He said that he was taking their concerns seriously and he said that his wife and daughters and this time his widowed mother did count for something

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“Criticise me, if you like, for speaking about my daughters but they are the centre of my life. My wife is the centre of my life. My mother, my widowed mother is the centre of my life. They motivate me every day on this issue. They have motivated me my entire life, they have taught me the values and the faith that sustains me every single day in this job, which is why I'm here. I owe them everything. And to them, I say to you girls, I will not let you down.”

RACHEL:

But he also felt the need all of a sudden to make it clear to the media that he had dirt on their workplaces and he would employ it as necessary, with or without the consent of complainants.

RUBY:

So tell me about that, because this was pretty extraordinary. Scott Morrison was being asked about the treatment of women in Canberra, and he responded with this accusation about the treatment of women in the media. Can you tell me about what was actually said?

RACHEL:

Yeah. Sky News's Andrew Clennell asked Scott Morrison whether he had lost control of his ministerial staff.

Archival Tape -- Andrew Clennell

“If you were the boss of the business and there'd been an alleged rape on your watch and this incident we'd heard about last night on your watch, your job would probably being in a bit of jeopardy, wouldn't it? Doesn't it look like you've lost control of your ministerial staff?”

RACHEL:

and Morrison shot back...

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“Well, I'll let you editorialise as you like, Andrew, but if anyone in this room wants to offer up the standards in their own workplaces, by comparison, I'd invite you to do so. “

Archival Tape -- Andrew Clennell

“Well, they’re better than these I would suggest, Prime Minister”

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“Well let me take you up on that…”

RACHEL:

The Prime Minister went on to note that Clennell own organisation's HR department was currently looking into a complaint from a woman regarding harassment in a bathroom.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“Right now, you'd be aware in your own organisation that there is a person who has had a complaint made against them for harassment of a woman in a women's toilet. And that matter is being pursued by your own HR department”

Archival Tape -- Andrew Clennell

“I’m not aware of it.”

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“You’re not aware of it!”

RACHEL:

And he went on to reference the proverb that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“So let's not all of us who sit in glass houses here start getting into that. What I'm suggesting…”

RACHEL:

And he ended the entire exchange with what can only be considered a warning.

Archival Tape -- Scott Morrison

“So you're free, you're free to make your criticisms and to stand on that pedestal. But be careful”.

RUBY:

Mm. So what do you think is going on here and to what extent do you think we should be hearing this as a warning?

RACHEL:

Well, it's not clear that Morrison set out to make that warning. That wasn't the point of the press conference, but it seemed a bit more like a flare up of temper, a man losing control of himself. But it completely undermined his point. And really any of the goodwill that he built up with what he'd said before. It was an appalling comment. In effect, he publicised and weaponized a woman's story without her consent. And it's all the worse because he did it while supposedly encouraging women to come forward, saying that they were going to be listened to. And as for that anonymous complaint, Sky News has actually said that no such complaint exists, as has News Corp. News Corp did reveal later in the day that there was one incident on its books, but it didn't involve a bathroom, didn't involve alleged sexual misconduct, and no formal complaint was made to the H.R. department. So it's not clear what the prime minister was referring to. And he's since apologised to News Corp in a Facebook post from 11pm that day.

But what is also disturbing, I think, about the comment was this implicit threat made towards the media. He was sort of getting at this idea of mutually-assured destruction, that journalists couldn't ask questions of him if they themselves worked for imperfect organisations and that he would be fighting allegation with allegation if anyone dared challenge him. And he's his new tearful rhetoric. It was sort of saying that journalists should stop turning over rocks, let alone throwing them. And it sounded a bit like be quiet as much as be careful, even though you're no longer being quiet is exactly what this moment is all about.

RUBY:

We'll be back in a moment.

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RUBY:

Rachel, on Wednesday, we had a fresh sexism scandal to contend with, this one also involving the Liberal Party. Can you tell me about it?

RACHEL:

Yeah. So this scandal is brought to us by Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz. He's been a Senator for 25 years and he is associated with the hard right of the Liberal Party. He was an ardent Abbott supporter. So on Wednesday, the speaker of the Tasmanian Lower House, a Liberal MP named Sue Hickey, got up in Parliament and detailed a conversation she had with Abetz on the 1st of March.

Archival Tape -- Sue Hickey

“On Monday the first of March at the Hobart City Council citizenship ceremony, I casually asked Senator…”

RACHEL:

According to Hickey, Abetz essentially slut shamed former Liberal staffer Brittney Higgins and suggested she had actually put the country's security at risk.

Archival Tape -- Sue Hickey

“He then said, ‘As for that Higgins girl, anybody who is so disgustingly drunk who would sleep with anybody could have slept with one of our spies and put the security of our nation at risk’.”

RACHEL:

And she also referenced comments that he allegedly made about the woman who accused Christian Porter of a historical rape - an accusation he denies. Basically, she asked him, was it Christian Porter who'd been accused - it was still an anonymous complaint at that point...

Archival Tape -- Sue Hickey

“The Senator quickly responded that ‘yes, it was the First Law Officer of the nation, Christian Porter. But not to worry, the woman is dead and the law will protect him’.”

RUBY:

Mm, ok. And so what is Eric Abetz saying about all of this?

RACHEL:

So at the time Hickey was making those claims in the Tasmanian Parliament, Abetz was actually in Federal Parliament chairing a Senate committee. He paused the committee's proceedings to deny the allegations and actually accused Hickey of trying to destroy the Liberal Party.

Archival Tape -- Eric Abetz

“I have draughted a statement categorically denying the mischievous assertions made under parliamentary privilege, and a statement will be coming out shortly…”

RACHEL:

Hickey was elected as a Liberal, but she's planning on running as an independent at the next election after being disendorsed by the party. And so Abetz is suggesting this is an act of political retribution.

Archival Tape -- Eric Abetz

“On Sunday, the Premier informed her she was no longer welcome or wanted in the Liberal Party, and one can imagine what has occasioned these outbursts by her...”

RACHEL:

But Hickey, for her part, responded to Eric Abetz as the response again in Parliament, standing by her initial statement and refuting the suggestion that she's doing this for revenge.

RUBY:

OK, and all of this is happening just a day after the Prime Minister got up and said that he was here to listen to the women of Australia and he would take on board their concerns. So what is he saying about these allegations?

RACHEL:

Yeah, so as you mentioned, he had said that women weren't listened to enough and that he promised he was going to start doing so. But after Sue Hickey made those allegations, he had a perfect chance to actually demonstrate that, to back up his words with actions by listening to a woman who claims that a member of his government had said some truly shocking things about women. But he didn't do it. He backed Eric Abetz’s version and said he accepted his denial, and we've now since seen the Tasmanian Premier, Peter Gutwein, come out and write to Morrison and inform the media that Sue Hickey did raise these comments with him before she raised them in Parliament, and that he had considered the matter raised, basically challenging Morrison to actually look into them, or that's at least how it's being interpreted. So we'll see how tenable it is for Morrison now to just accept another man's denial and move on.

RUBY:

Mm. And it seems like Scott Morrison thought at the beginning of this week that he would be able to try and reset the conversation around sexism and and sexual assault and harassment in politics. But, judging by the reaction to his press conference and also these rolling allegations, it seems like every day there is something new coming out, that strategy isn't going to work. So do you think that it is possible for Scott Morrison to try and manage this situation politically without actually making any structural change?

RACHEL:

Look, probably not at this stage. I think at the start of this six weeks ago, the ‘Scotty from Marketing’ that lives in some people's heads could have managed this politically if he'd stepped up and said some of the correct words that he tried to use on Tuesday, but he didn't. And then when he tried to start doing that on Tuesday, he made the situation worse. So he thought, I guess, that he could wait this out, but it's just not gone away. In fact, it's snowballing. This week has been full of allegations, we started with the Liberal staffers, with their group chat, then we had Abetz, and then yesterday after Abetz we had allegations that a New South Wales government MP had raped a sex worker, which were aired in parliament. And that's a Nationals MP who since come forward to acknowledge that he's under investigation, and he’s denied it. We've also had Greens Senator Lydia Thorpe talking about her experiences in Parliament of really horrific sexual harassment towards a Senator from, again, Coalition figures. And we know there's just heaps more. So, yeah, it looks like we are going to have to see something bigger from Morrison now. We are actually going to have to see some serious action because this is a serious issue that demands structural change and saying that he's listening, even if he hadn't immediately gone and disproven, that isn't enough.

RUBY:

When you look at what has unfolded over the past week and the reaction to what Scott Morrison has said, how much pressure do you think he's under and how damaging is this becoming to him politically?

RACHEL:

Yeah, I think this week we saw how specifically damaging it is to him after those Tuesday comments when he threw out the ‘people in glass houses’ line at the media. We saw even News Corp begin to turn on him the next day with negative front pages. I mean, he did directly attack their organisation with an unfounded allegation. What was supposed to be a day that he reset the narrative. It all became a lot more personal for him. It's clear that he's realised this is extremely personally damaging to him and it's as much about solving his political problem as it is about solving the crisis. There's a lot of conversation going on about Josh Frydenberg and Peter Dutton and what they might be thinking about this week, especially if News Corp really has turned on Morrison; we'll see how long that lasts - it might have been just a bit of a slap down. He's apologised to News Corp, but without them on his side, he's in serious trouble.

RUBY:

Rachel, thank you so much for your time today.

RACHEL:

Thanks, Ruby.

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RUBY:

Also in the news today…
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that his Chief of Staff will investigate whether his office leaked negative comments about former staffer Brittany Higgins’s partner to the media. Morrison has resisted calls to investigate the issue but announced the inquiry after Higgins wrote to him with a formal complaint.
And a 37-year-old Barkindji man Anzac Sullivan has died during a police pursuit in Broken Hill. Sullivan’s death occurred on the 18th of March, making it the fourth Indigenous death in custody in Australia in three weeks. The NSW Aboriginal Legal Service is calling for an independent investigation into Sullivan’s death.

7am is a daily show from The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. It’s produced by Ruby Schwartz, Elle Marsh, Michelle Macklem, and Cinnamon Nippard, with technical production by Atticus Bastow.
Brian Campeau mixes the show. Our editor is Osman Faruqi. Erik Jensen is our editor-in-chief.
Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio.
New episodes of 7am are released every weekday morning. Follow us in your favourite podcast app, to make sure you don’t miss out.

I’m Ruby Jones, see ya next week.

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