Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleges she was raped inside a minister’s office in Parliament House in March 2019, says she will make a formal police complaint.
In a statement released this afternoon, Ms Higgins said she would proceed with the complaint about the alleged incident in a place she said should be “the safest building in Australia”.
“Firstly, I want a comprehensive police investigation into what happened to me … and for my perpetrator to face the full force of the law,” she said.
Ms Higgins told news.com.au earlier this week that a man working for then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds took her into Parliament House after a night out in March 2019 and allegedly raped her inside the minister’s office.
Ms Higgins was just four weeks into her role at the time.
“The Australian Federal Police have made assurances to me that they will handle this matter thoroughly and transparently,” Ms Higgins said.
“I would also ask that they handle it in a timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice.”
ACT Police previously confirmed they spoke to a complainant in April 2019 but the complainant chose not to make a formal complaint.
Ms Higgins also said she was “determined” to be the driver of change to the way Parliament responds to similar issues and how it treats staff who come forward.
“I believe 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,” she said.
In the wake of Ms Higgin’s allegations, the Prime Minister announced three separate investigations that will look at what support is available to staff and the processes in place for dealing with complaints, as well as the broader workplace culture issues and what can be done to bring Parliament House into line with other institutions.
Ms Higgins also reiterated her calls for a “significant review” into how ministerial and parliamentary staff are employed.
“Political advisers have very few protections, resources and confidential reporting mechanisms to address any workplace issues,” she said.
“They are not public servants and work in an extremely high-pressure environment. Too often, a toxic workplace culture can emerge that enables inappropriate conduct and this is exacerbated by the disparity in the power dynamics.
“How ministerial and parliamentary staff are treated is a bipartisan issue that impacts staff from across the political spectrum and must be treated as such.”
More to come.
Source: news.google.com