More light on dark Parliament culture
A former Liberal MP has spoken out about unwanted advances, “bully boys” and backgrounding she experienced in Parliament House.
Julia Banks was the only Liberal MP to win a seat from Labor at the 2016 election, but quit the party shortly after when Scott Morrison won a leadership spill.
In an interview with the ABC this week, she has detailed a litany of doggy behaviour she was subjected to in what has been described as a “Mad Men”-esque culture at the heart of federal politics.
She described the highest echelons of Australian politics as a kind of time-warp to the 1980s, which allows far worse behaviour than many other male-dominated industries she has worked in.
She has made her story public at the same time as the Parliament is undergoing a major workplace review, sparked by accusations of rape in a minister’s office against former staffer Brittany Higgins.