Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised to a former young Liberal staffer for how her complaint of alleged sexual assault by a colleague was handled.
Brittany Higgins told Channel 10's The Project last night she was just weeks into her dream job when she was allegedly raped by a male staffer in then-Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019.
After she disclosed the alleged assault, she was brought into a meeting about the incident and asked to sit inside the very same ministerial office where she says she was assaulted.
Mr Morrison said he had watched the interview with his wife Jenny and it "shattered" him that Ms Higgins found herself in the vulnerable situation that she was in.
"Brittany talked it being her dream job. We are all privileged - whether it's members of Parliament, the people who work in our offices, indeed, those who work in the Gallery and get to do what we do in this place - it is a privilege," Mr Morrison said.
"We should be able to go about that important work safely. There should not be an environment where a young woman can find herself in such a vulnerable situation. That is not OK."
Mr Morrison was asked about the meeting between Ms Higgins and Ms Reynolds in the office where the alleged assault occurred.
"That should not have happened and I do apologise. That shouldn't have happened."
Mr Morrison said he would be working with Cabinet Deputy Secretary Stephanie Foster to review the processes for workplace allegations and establish an automatic reporting process for department officials.
Western Australian MP Celia Hammond, former vice-chancellor of the University of Notre Dame, will also be brought in to work with MPs make recommendations for new processes to protect staff.
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