Former Liberal MP Julia Banks details allegation of improper touching and sexism in politics

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Former Liberal MP Julia Banks alleged that she was inappropriately touched by a senior male colleague and that she was subjected to a culture “driven by sexism and misogyny” during her tenure in Parliament.

Key points: Julia Banks left the Liberal Party in 2018 after Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as Prime Minister. a “weak and overly emotional woman”

In an excerpt from her new book, published in today’s Good Weekend magazine, Ms Banks alleged that an anonymous Coalition minister slipped her hand across the inside of her thigh during a function in Parliament , about a year after his election in 2016.

“For a minister to do this in the Prime Minister’s wing, which was full of coalition MPs, he had to be incredibly cheeky,” she wrote.

“I thought it was amazing. And I froze momentarily.”

Ms Banks resigned from the Liberal Party several months after Malcolm Turnbull was appointed Prime Minister.

She then challenged Flinders’ seat as an Independent but failed.

Ms Banks left the Liberal Party in 2018 following the impeachment of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister. (

AAP: Mal Fairclough

)

Ms Banks described the period between the change in leadership and her decision to cross-bench as the “most painful and heartbreaking period” of her career.

“After the August 2018 coup that installed Scott Morrison as Prime Minister, I felt the full force of a culture of fear and silence, underpinned by sexism and misogyny,” said she declared.

She accused Mr. Morrison of using a “Trumpesque tone” in an attempt to dissuade her from announcing that she would not contest her seat.

“During this time, Morrison was like a constant, menacing wallpaper, imperceptibly controlling his intermediaries forcing him to do his job for him,” Ms. Banks said.

“I would discover from various reliable sources that in the agreed 24 hours before releasing my statement, the Prime Minister’s Office and other prominent Liberal sources told the media that I was a weak and overly emotional woman. who had not faced the coup week. “

Prime Minister “unaware” of sexual harassment allegations

A spokesperson for Mr Morrison said he “absolutely rejects” claims about the nature of his conversations with Ms Banks.

“The Prime Minister was disappointed with Mrs Banks’ decision to leave the parliamentary party and had several conversations with her to understand what she was going through to see what support could be offered before she made her decision,” said a statement.

“This included support for personal time off so she could take time to recover from the upheaval that many people went through during this time. Several of Ms. Banks’ colleagues had similar conversations.”

Parliament has reviewed its corporate culture after allegations by former employee Brittany Higgins. (

ABC News: Luke Stephenson

)

The statement said Mr Morrison was not aware of any allegations of sexual harassment that Ms Banks had faced and that such behavior was “completely inappropriate”.

He also highlighted the Parliament’s workplace culture review carried out by Gender Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins in response to former staff member Brittany Higgins’ allegation that she was raped in a ministerial office.

“In addition, the government has released the consultation report provided by Stephanie Foster PSM on the processes and procedures relating to serious incidents in the parliamentary workplace,” the statement said.

“This report made important findings and recommendations to improve the way serious incidents are avoided and handled in the parliamentary workplace.”

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