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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Katharine Murphy and Christopher Knaus

'It's gross': Brittany Higgins says if Scott Morrison's office is briefing against her it must stop

Brittany Higgins
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleges she was raped in Parliament House in 2019, says she knew that when she ‘decided to put my name and face to this there would be repercussions’. Photograph: supplied

Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal staffer who alleges she was raped by a more senior colleague on a couch in Parliament House in 2019, says if there is unofficial government briefing going on against her or her loved ones – it needs to stop.

The assault allegations, and Higgins’ belief that in the aftermath she was made to feel like lodging a police complaint could end her career in political staffing, has generated an ongoing political storm.

The former Liberal staffer told Guardian Australia on Thursday she understood that telling her story would have consequences.

“I knew personally that when I decided to put my name and face to this there would be repercussions for me,” Higgins said. “But I think it’s unfair if they are starting to try and take this out on loved ones.

“I think it speaks to the systematic problems of this place.

“It silences people and I think it’s gross.”

Higgins spoke to Guardian Australia in the wake of comments on Thursday morning by the Network Ten political editor, Peter Van Onselen, alleging that the prime minister’s office was deliberately backgrounding journalists to smear Higgins’ now partner.

This backgrounding, Van Onselen said, was designed to suggest Higgins’ partner held a gripe against the government due to his experience as a former public servant.

“The internals are just shocking … I can let your listeners know that the prime minister’s office has been backgrounding that her partner, her now partner, has a vendetta, or a gripe might be the better way to put it, against the government because of him being a former public servant,” Van Onselen told the ABC.

“That might not technically be victim blaming, but I tell you what, it is grubby.”

Guardian Australia has received no negative backgrounding from the prime minister’s office about Higgins or any of her associates.

When asked respond to Van Onselen’s comments, the prime minister’s office declined to comment.

In a public statement issued after question time on Wednesday, Higgins accused the prime minister of deploying “victim-blaming rhetoric” which is “personally very distressing to me and countless other survivors” of sexual assault.

Higgins’ escalating distress comes as her former boss, defence minister Linda Reynolds, has refused to answer further questions about the termination arrangements that applied to the staff member who is alleged to have assaulted Higgins in March 2019.

The man left Reynolds’ office in March 2019 and later went to work for a Sydney-based public relations and registered lobbyist firm.

Reynolds has said the man’s employment was “terminated”, but is not answering questions about whether that means he was sacked or allowed to resign, or whether he was awarded a termination payout or redundancy.

Reynolds has insisted she has not provided him with a reference for his post-politics work. But she did not answer a question about whether her senior staff did so. If the staffer was sacked, Reynolds would have had the option of withholding his termination payout on the grounds of “serious misconduct”.

Reynolds’ office says it cannot discuss the matter, because doing so would breach the ex-staffer’s privacy.

“To protect the privacy of this individual, it is not appropriate to provide any further details relating to their employment or the termination of their employment in the office,” a spokesperson said.

With Reynolds under intense pressure, and with the prime minister fielding persistent questions about his knowledge of the allegations, and the knowledge of his staff, Morrison has agreed to assess complaints about a toxic work culture in staffing through an “arm’s length” review.

On Wednesday night Morrison sought bipartisan backing for that endeavour. The prime minister said he was seeking a “consensus position” to achieve better practices.

• If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au

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