Australian PM's response to sexual abuse claims draws condemnation

Two prominent advocates for sexual abuse survivors have pilloried Australia's prime minister, decrying "weasel words" and a response to widespread abuse that had not "measured up".

Former government aide Brittany Higgins — whose allegation that she was raped by a colleague, in parliament, sparked national protests — said on Wednesday "too little has changed" since she went public a year ago.

In a widely watched speech, Higgins was sorrowful and withering about the actions of a conservative government she once served.

Higgins said Prime Minister Scott Morrison's response, which invoked his own daughters and wife, had been "shocking and at times, admittedly, a bit offensive".

"I didn't want his sympathy as a father. I wanted him to use his power as prime minister," she said. "But his words wouldn't matter if his actions had measured up."

Higgins said the national conversation about ending abuse, harassment and assault had not progressed beyond "trading off offensive, tone-deaf statements for a convoluted mix of appeasing weasel-words".

READ MORE: Sexual harassment 'widespread' in Australian parliament

'Abuse culture'

Higgins was joined in her address by child sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame, the 2021 "Australian of the Year", who also took aim at the prime minister's leadership over the past year.

"It rots from the top," Tame said. "Unless our leaders take full responsibility for their own failings, abuse culture will continue to thrive inside parliament, setting a corrupt standard for the rest of the nation."

Tame, who called for more funding for consent training in schools, piled further pressure on the government by alleging she was asked not to publicly criticise the prime minister.

She recalled a "threatening phone call from a senior member of a government-funded organisation asking for my word that I wouldn't say anything damning about the prime minister" at a recent award ceremony.

Tame said the caller told her the prime minister "would have a fear...with an election coming soon".

Australia's next federal election must be held by mid-May.

Minister for families Anne Ruston said the government was looking into Tame's claim, adding that, if true, such a warning would be "completely unacceptable".

Morrison did not attend Higgins and Tame's address, citing other commitments, but several members of his government including Ruston were in the audience.

The plight of both women had fuelled national debate and soul searching in Australia, as well as multiple government investigations.

One of those, the 450-page Jenkins Review, found that one in three people currently working in parliament and other federal government workplaces have experienced sexual harassment while there.

READ MORE: Australian government under fire over rampant culture of misogyny