The Australian parliament was rocked by yet more sex abuse allegations Monday when footage of a senior government staff member masturbating onto the desk of a female lawmaker was leaked by a whistleblower.
The disgusting video—obtained by The Australian newspaper and Channel Ten—led to the immediate firing of the unnamed aide, but it came alongside other images of at least four government staff members who have been swapping images of Parliament House sex acts for years.
One of the clips showed a pixellated man exposing his penis with a copy of the Parliament House rule book right behind him, while another showed a man pointing to the desk of a female Liberal member of parliament before masturbating onto it. “The fact that it is a female MP only adds to the disgrace that it is,” the whistleblower said, adding that he’d been sent so many explicit clips that he’d “become immune” to them.
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The whistleblower—who was identified only as Tom in the report—admitted to taking part in some of the misconduct, but said he’d decided that the time was right to expose what’s been going on. As well as sharing the clips, he revealed that government employees and even members of parliament have been known to have sex in a small room in Parliament House that is supposed to be set aside for prayer or mediation.
“I can probably say there is very little meditation or prayer going on in that room,” said Tom, admitting he’d used the room for sex. The whistleblower added, “Now’s the time to speak up, now’s the time to put it on the record. It is a culture of men thinking that they can do whatever they want.”
After the report was broadcast, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the videos as “disgusting and sickening,” and said those involved had shown “staggering disrespect” for everyone who works in parliament. The PM also confirmed the man who filmed himself masturbating onto a female MP’s desk has been terminated “immediately.”
The report follows an even more serious allegation of sexual abuse on parliament grounds. Last month, Morrison ordered a review of the toxic workplace culture in Parliament House after a former government press officer, 26-year-old Brittany Higgins, alleged that she had been raped by one of her colleagues in a ministerial office in March 2019. Federal police are investigating Higgins’ allegations.
Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally, told The Australian that the footage is all the more sickening because of its context. “Coming on the heels of Brittany Higgins’ brave revelations, the behavior of these male staffers, with their depraved mockery of a Coalition female MP’s desk as a prop in their obscene videos, is reprehensible,” she said.
Tom the whistleblower said that he’s aware that leaking the allegations will put him in the firing line, but that he’s sick of the “privileged boys club” getting away with repeated misconduct—and things have to change. “It needs to start with the removal of this toxic, powerful, privileged boys club that does what it wants, when it wants, where it wants,” he said.
