The Prime Minister has told parliament that Education Minister Alan Tudge has stood aside from the ministry after a former Liberal staffer made fresh claims against him, alleging she was in an emotionally, and on one occasion, physically abusive relationship with him.
Key points:
- Scott Morrison says an independent review into the allegations will be conducted
- Alan Tudge denies the allegations and rejects Rachelle Miller's version of events
- The pair were in a consensual affair in 2017
Rachelle Miller and Mr Tudge had a consensual affair in 2017.
Mr Tudge denied the allegations, saying he "completely and utterly rejects Ms Miller's version of events", and that he regretted the affair.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he asked Mr Tudge to step aside while the allegations are investigated by an independent review run by the Prime Minister's department.
Mr Morrison said he wanted "to ensure that the matters that have been raised can be properly assessed".
"I wish to stress that this action in no way seeks to draw a conclusion on these matters," he said.
The Prime Minister described Ms Miller's allegations as "obviously deeply concerning and I know deeply distressing for Ms Miller, Minister Tudge and the families affected by these events".
Mr Morrison said Mr Tudge welcomed the process and was looking forward to participating in the review.
"I have also asked for this advice to be provided directly to Ms Miller by my chief of staff," he said.
Ms Miller alleged that in 2017, she drank heavily with Mr Tudge and he became angry when she answered a phone call early the next morning from his hotel room bed.
"It was about four in the morning and a morning media producer … was calling about the front-page story we'd lined up. I started to talk to her to arrange a time, but I was still half asleep," she said, reading a statement in Parliament House earlier today.
"Then I felt someone kicking me on the side of my hip and leg. As I tried to sit up in bed. It was the minister, he was furious, telling me to get the f*** out of his bed.
"He continued to kick me until I fell off the side of the bed and ended up on the floor. I searched around in the dark for my clothes [while] he was yelling at me that my phone had woken me up.
"He told me to get the f*** out of his room and make sure that no-one saw me."
Last year Ms Miller made a formal complaint about her time working in Mr Tudge's office. However, it did not include an allegation of physical abuse.
The Department of Finance completed a review into that complaint, and minister Jane Hume said Ms Miller had not participated in it.
"There was an independent review that was done into the allegations," Senator Hume said on Thursday.
"If she [Ms Miller] had have felt supported to participate in that review maybe there would have been a different outcome, but the review found that the allegations were unsubstantiated."
Call to implement review recommendations
The treatment of women within politics has been in the spotlight this year, after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward with a rape allegation.
Today, Ms Miller called on the government to immediately commit to the 28 recommendations made in a major review that found widespread bullying and sexual harassment at Parliament House.
"This is not about revenge, it has never, ever been about that," she said.
"I still sometimes feel sorry for him [Mr Tudge]. It's about ensuring no-one else goes through this in this workplace ever again. It's about changing a system that enabled this to happen. We should not have to fight."
Both the government and Labor have committed to look at all the recommendations from the review.
Some include specific time frames, while others are complex measures that will take time to introduce.
In 2018, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced the so called "bonk ban" so that ministers could no longer have sexual relationships with staffers.
The move came after it was revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce had an affair with his former media adviser, who he now has two children with.
Labor also has a ban on MPs and their staff having relationships.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTEyLTAyL2FsYW4tdHVkZ2Utc3RhbmRzLWFzaWRlLWFtaWQtYWJ1c2UtYWxsZWdhdGlvbnMvMTAwNjY5NTky0gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMDY2OTU5Mg?oc=5
2021-12-02 04:07:30Z
1198591491
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Education Minister Alan Tudge stands aside amid abuse allegations, PM tells parliament - ABC News"
Post a Comment