The fact that Brittany Higgins was raped in a minister's office at parliament house has sparked an enquiry into the safety of women working in the very chamber that delivers the laws under which the twenty-five million people who call this continent home live.
All that changed in the twinkling of an eye when her boss, the defence minister Linda Reynolds made a remark that was overheard by other members of her staff. Ms Higgins had issued a press statement about the rape and contended that she had not received the support she expected from her superiors.
Linda Reynolds called her a " lying cow " and that invoked both the wrath of the women's movement and opened an attack line for opposition members of parliament and the cross bench. Senator Reynolds immediately apologised for the comment, but it became obvious that her job was on the line.
There have been calls in both the parliament and the media for her to be sacked and as a consequence our defence minister has taken appropriate sick leave. The controversy brought on an underlying heart problem and on medical advice she will be missing from parliament until April.
Defence is an important government ministry and we are in the middle of major equipment purchases that requite the minister's close attention. The fact that the ministry will be in caretaker hands for several weeks will delay decisions and cause confusion, but the biggest danger is that this remark issue has clouded the enquiry that was being seriously building around the safety of women working in the national parliament.
It has long been clear that sexual shennanegans have been rife in parliament house. It is a place of power and a clear pecking order of authority which has been used to put pressure on women to provide sexual favours. It seemed likely this was about to come under the microscope and be subjected to new safety rules.
The abstraction of Linda Reynolds remark has changed all that. The context has been changed to suggest that the minister was commenting on the rape and not the claim that support and backup from her was missing. There is no doubt the remark was spontaneous - and unwise, but it is suggested that Linda Reynolds may be the scapegoat to bury this sexual conduct enquiry if she is permanently removed from office.
That would be unfortunate. We have had continuing sexual scandals involving all levels of authority in parliament over many years and it is time the people that serve the nation cleaned up their act. There is every reason to believe that the defence minister was good at her job and she still retains the confidence of her prime minister.
The focus needs to return to that rape. The sexual safety of the ppeople who work in parliament should be paramount !
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