‘I keep my legs shut’: Fresh sexism allegations dog Australian politics

The allegation — which education minister Alan Tudge has denied — was in keeping with a dismaying week in Australian politics that has highlighted what critics describe as a toxic culture.

In the House of Representatives, the opposition leader called the defense minister a “boofhead.”

The atmosphere was even worse across the hall in the Senate, where one female lawmaker told another that “at least I keep my legs shut.”

When another female senator stood up to speak, a male colleague allegedly growled at her like a dog.

The string of incidents came the same week a scathing report revealed widespread harassment in federal Parliament, and capped a year in which politicians’ behavior has been in the spotlight.

The report, compiled by the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and released on Tuesday, found more than half of workers in federal Parliament had experienced bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault, with women reporting higher rates than men. One person interviewed for the report said young women in Parliament were treated like “fresh meat.”

The report was commissioned in March in response to a former ministerial staffer’s account of being raped in Parliament House, an allegation that stirred national protests. The former staffer, Brittany Higgins, alleged she was assaulted in 2019 inside Parliament House by a colleague who will soon stand trial.

On the afternoon of the report’s release, conservative senator David Van was accused of growling and making dog noises while Sen. Jacqui Lambie, an independent, was speaking. The following day, Sen. Lidia Thorpe of the Greens told a conservative opponent, Sen. Hollie Hughes, “at least I keep my legs shut” during a spat on the Senate floor. Both have since apologized, though Van said he was misheard.

The tumultuous week was in keeping with a charged year in which gendered violence and politics repeatedly collided in the public eye Down Under.

The nation’s most senior law officer, then-Attorney-General Christian Porter, in March denied a woman’s claim that he raped her in 1988; the woman committed suicide before the allegation became public. More than 100,000 people took to the streets in “Women’s March 4 Justice” protests, with demands focused on federal Parliament and its working culture.

It’s the last thing Prime Minister Scott Morrison needs as he heads into a summer election campaign. The conservative leader has faced criticism for his response to the year’s female fury — particularly for his comment that it was a “triumph of democracy” for Women’s March protesters to rally outside Parliament House without being “met with bullets.” It’s expected Morrison will call Australians to the polls in May, and his performance on gender equality could be a key flash point.

As politicians were preparing for a last-day flurry of legislative activity on Thursday morning, Tudge’s former staffer delivered the latest accusation.

In a news conference, Rachelle Miller said her relationship with her then-married boss was emotionally abusive and, on one occasion, physically abusive.

“This is not about revenge, it has never ever been about that, it‘s about ensuring no one goes through this, in this workplace, ever again,” she said.

Tudge rejects her account and said their relationship was at all times consensual but one he deeply regrets. He stood aside as minister Thursday while an investigation takes place.

Jane Caro, a commentator on Australian politics and gender, said she felt a sense of “weariness and exhaustion” at the wave of news. But she had never before seen so many women in politics taking allegations public at the same time, preventing any one from becoming a solitary and more easily-discredited figure in the eye of the media storm.

“What does give me hope is that what has fundamentally changed is not men,” she said. “Obviously I‘m generalizing here, but male culture has not changed — and female culture has comprehensively changed.”

Women, she said, “aren’t putting up with it anymore.” “We have an upswell of women saying, ‘This is outrageous,’” Caro added.

Morrison has said he looks forward to going through the 28 recommendations of the sex discrimination commissioner’s report, which he initiated after Higgins’ rape allegation. He has not committed to fully implementing them and said the response to the report should include the opposition and minor parties.

“We all have a responsibility to fix this,” he said.