Cartoons of the Week

Mike Luckovich

 

Fiona Katsaukas

Quote of the Week

 

” It seemed that the part he was most sensitive about was whether I was going to expose his invisible role as a ringleader – of the coup, and of the treatment I’d received since. He asked the same question in various different ways, along the lines of ‘It’s not anything I have done is it?’ ‘You don’t have a problem with me, do you?’ ‘Are you sure there’s nothing I’ve done to make you want to leave?’ Would I expose that he was a bully? That he was a man who could not be trusted?” [Former Liberal MP for Julia Banks quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 2021]

Is Scott Morrison's response to the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces genuine? Or is it just busy work to hold the line until after the next federal election?

 “The Australian Government has agreed to (in full, in-principle, or in-part) or noted all 55 recommendations in the Report.” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, media release, 8 April 2021]

“are either agreed wholly in part or in principle, or noted where they are directed to governments or organisations other than the Australian government” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, quoted in Sky News online, 8 April 2021]

So after ignoring the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces Final Report for over 12 months, what do Morrison’s weasel words in the quotes above indicate?

Scott Morrison & Co say they are proceeding to:

* order a survey every four years to provide data on sexual harassment;

* provide educational resources for young people of working age on workplace rights and sexual harassment;

* educate and train staff at the Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission, Safe Work Australia, WHS regulators and workers’ compensation bodies concerning sexual harassment;

* lead a new collaboration by government, unions, employers and employer associations called Respect@Work aka the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council; and

* the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council is charged with:

a. providing high-level advice on development of guidelines and resources to ensure that all services providing information, advice and support in relation to sexual harassment can provide accurate information, make appropriate cross-referrals, and collect consistent data

b. after three years, considering the need for a centralised, accessible service to provide information and advice in relation to workplace sexual harassment;

* develop a Respect@Work website to provide the general public, employers and workers with free information; and

* Advise all state governments that they should ensure that relevant bodies responsible for developing training, programs and resources for judges, magistrates and tribunal members make available education on sexual harassment. 

Somehow in this 7-item list I don't see any immediate, hands-on, practical actions by the Morrison Government that will see the rates of sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical assault and/or murder by a partner or former partner, of women and girls in any state or territory decrease in the next few years.

I sincerely hope I am wrong.

 

Quotes of the Week

 

“When Scott Morrison says he’s listening, it’s usually to himself.” [Dennis Aitkins writing in The New Daily, 27 March 2021]

“This prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men at risk of voting Labor.” [Political editor and journalist Katharine Murphy, writing in The Guardian, 27 March 2021]

Iluka NSW Population 1,746: in March 2021 a small village with a big heart reminded the Morrison Government that women have a right to R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 24 March 2021:

Around 60 women and eight men joined together in Iluka on Monday of last week in the Clarence Valley march4justice protest march, organised by Berri Brown (Iluka) and Robin Thomas (Woombah) to say, “Enough is Enough”.

Berri Brown, shared her reason for protesting, saying that, “Domestic violence is about emotional, financial and verbal abuse. I want things to change so that my little girl will be able to go about her day in the knowledge that whatever she decides to do in her future she will never have to be silenced or not be believed if this was to happen to her”.

Guest speaker Prue Leggoe OAM of Maclean said, “Of the 60 women present only one woman put up her hand to say she had never experienced sexual harassment or abuse. One of the men attending said he was there to stand for his two daughters who had experienced sexual abuse. This is a devastating statistic”.

Prue added that is seemed that nothing had changed since she had experienced sexual harassment when a Member of the Victorian Parliament 40 years ago. “It seems to have gotten worse in Parliaments, where power is used to manipulate and frighten an abused person, and workplaces continue to be unsafe for many women and men.” She said…...

A perspective on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inability to comprehend that all women have a right to equality and respect

 

ABC News, 16 March 2021:

The early signs of an earthquake can often be easy to miss.

Above the ground, the initial tremors can seem innocuous. But deep below, the tectonic shifting of plates can set in motion a series of events that rip apart the earth and bring down all that stands above it.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison could be forgiven for missing the early signs of the quake that would destabilise his government and upend the nation's political landscape.

When those early tremors started, Morrison was riding high. The nation was bouncing back from an economic recession and the man who'd won an unlikely victory years earlier appeared on track for re-election.

His focus was solely on a successful vaccine rollout, which he hoped would bolster the public's confidence in his government.

Weeks later, he'd find himself inside the House of Representatives, all but praising the nation for not shooting the protesters that had gathered outside.

"This is a vibrant liberal democracy," he offered.

"Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country."

Scott Morrison is a man under pressure.

He has two Cabinet ministers, representing a quarter of the government's national security committee, on medical leave.

His government is facing allegations of a toxic culture towards women, particularly young female staffers.

Morrison played an unlikely role in the catalyst that would shake the foundations of the nation's Parliament.

He beamed as he stood alongside Grace Tame as she held her Australian of the Year trophy — an all-but-typical sight for a Prime Minister each January.

It was this sight that gave former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins the confidence to come forward only weeks later, and make public an allegation that she had been raped in a ministerial office, mere metres from the Prime Minister's office within Parliament House.

As she stepped forward into the light, so too came other women across the nation, each unearthing a growing list of allegations that ranged from bullying to sexual assault.

It derailed the government's planned focus on vaccines and forced the Coalition onto the back foot. The days of solely focussing on the pandemic are ending and with that comes greater scrutiny of the government on multiple fronts.

The Prime Minister knows all too well the power of marketing and imagery.

He projects the image of a daggy dad, the Sharks-loving, cap-wearing suburban everyman who builds chicken coops for his daughters.

So you only had to see the shirt he was wearing — the national netball team's — when he got his first COVID-19 vaccine to realise how aware he was about the reputational damage being inflicted on his government because of its culture towards women.

That culture has been a scourge on Parliament House long before Scott Morrison became Prime Minister.

But as the leader of the government it's his task to handle.

He's faced blowback for saying he had to talk to his wife to realise he had to respond to Brittany Higgins's allegations as if they were coming from his own daughters.

He's also faced criticism for referring to Ms Higgins as "Brittany", rather than Ms Higgins.

The same way he referred to Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan, a professor, as "chief nurse Alison", while Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly gets a "Professor Kelly".

Though each are small, the Prime Minister is facing questions about if they add up to something bigger.

"Not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete," Labor leader Anthony Albanese offered in Parliament yesterday……

Former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy or the former NSW fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons were heavy favourites to be named Australian of the Year.

If either man had been awarded the honour, they'd have easily joined the ranks of the distinguished Australians to hold the position.

And if Murphy or Fitzimmons had been named Australian of the Year, it's unlikely the nation would still be talking about them more than a month later.

It's very possible it would've meant the Prime Minister would still be riding high, talking about the vaccine and an economy in recovery.

Grace Tame changed all that.

She has advanced a reckoning that has long hung over the nation's Parliament and its treatment of women.

It's grown into a story beyond Parliament House and forced the nation to confront how women in all walks of life are treated in Australia.

There is no quick fix that Morrison could announce to solve this problem.

To change a culture takes time.

But for the tens of thousands who rallied around the nation, they were looking for signs the nation's leaders were listening.

What they heard was a Prime Minister who said they should be thankful they weren't shot.

All those wonderful women who marched and those who support them in Australia 2021

 

On 15 March 2015 women and girls marched in villages, towns and citiesspread across Australia from coast to coast.

They marched demanding that gender-based violence against women and children stop.

A demand which insists that the federal government listen, act and lead a long overdue change in institutional attitudes which either turn a blind eye to or openly condone sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, the double burden for many women of gender based discrimination coupled with racial discrimination and, a shameful murder rate which sees women murdered by their current partners or former partners at the rate of one woman every nine days [House of Representatives, Hansard, p.62].

Here are just some of the images from that 14 to 15 March which were 

tweeted by marchers as they happened.....

#march4justice thread in Melbourne.

This is a list of names of all the women in Australia killed from gendered violence since 2008. 👇 pic.twitter.com/CgcJcqsB8t

— Antoun Issa (@antissa) March 15, 2021

Some of the supporters showing solidarity.....

Thousands of #March4Justice protesters can be heard cheering as Labor MPs led by @AlboMP walk out of Parliament House to join the rally @TheNewDailyAu pic.twitter.com/5FV1FcCHbw

— Samantha Dick (@samanthadick00) March 15, 2021

This moment requires leadership. We’re not getting it from this Prime Minister.

My response to the PM in Parliament. #March4Justice pic.twitter.com/4NG9aC4W3o

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 15, 2021

Thank you Andrew Wilkie @WilkieMP who stood yesterday in Parliament in Solidarity with #WomensMarch4Justice @womensmarchaus @womensmarch pic.twitter.com/aqWMmmodOV

— 🎗Bel🎗 (@gypsybels) March 16, 2021

Shout out to @TonyHWindsor for attending the #March4Justice Armidale today! pic.twitter.com/bQ1mkY79FE

— Kate Mackley (@TheMackley) March 15, 2021

Look who turned up at #March4Justice in Sydney @TwoPaddocks pic.twitter.com/KdANXraWdF

— Saffron Howden (@saffronhowden) March 15, 2021

Having a super normal one back on the old work commute. But the women are coming because enough is enough and tomorrow we #March4Justice! pic.twitter.com/ouFE4tGcjQ

— Anika Wells MP (@AnikaWells) March 14, 2021

BACKGROUND

Just one of the reports that Scott Morrison and his government have not acted on since he became prime minister in August 2018.

Australian Human Rights Commission, Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020), 5 March 2020:

1 Introduction

1.1 Executive Summary

(a) The National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces

Workplace sexual harassment is prevalent and pervasive: it occurs in every industry, in every location and at every level, in Australian workplaces. Australians, across the country, are suffering the financial, social, emotional, physical and psychological harm associated with sexual harassment. This is particularly so for women.

This behaviour also represents a very real financial impost to the economy through lost productivity, staff turnover and other associated impacts.

In June 2018, against the backdrop of the momentum of the #MeToo movement and recognition of the prevalence of, and immense harm caused by sexual harassment in Australian, and global, workplaces, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, and the then Minister for Women, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, announced the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (Inquiry).

As Australia’s national human rights institution, the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) was tasked with undertaking this Inquiry. The Commission has an established record of undertaking initiatives aimed at addressing sexual harassment and promoting gender equality.

In the Terms of Reference, the Commission’s task was to review and report on workplace sexual harassment and make recommendations in relation to:

    • its prevalence, nature and reporting in Australian workplaces

    • the role of technology

    • its drivers, including risk factors for particular population groups or in  different workplace settings

    • the current legal framework

    • existing measures to address it and examples of good practice

    • its impacts on individuals and businesses, including its economic impact.

This report outlines the Commission’s findings and recommendations. The full list of recommendations is set out at the end of this Executive Summary.

The purpose of this Inquiry is to improve how Australian workplaces prevent and respond to sexual harassment, including through an examination of the systemic issues set out in its Terms of Reference.

The Commission established a Reference Group to provide advice and guidance for the Inquiry. It included members from across government, business groups, unions, academia and the legal and community sector (see Section 1.4(b) for a list of members). The Commission acknowledges and thanks Reference Group members for their valuable assistance with engaging stakeholders and providing frank and robust advice and guidance on the Inquiry.

The Commission received 460 submissions from government agencies, business groups, community bodies and, above all, victims. From September 2018 to February 2019, the Commission conducted 60 consultations as part of the Inquiry, with more than 600 individuals participating in all capital cities and some regional locations across Australia. It also held three roundtables and numerous meetings with key stakeholders.

This report is a reflection of the contributions of many individuals and organisations and the Commission is grateful to those who took the time to attend a consultation, write a submission or assist the Inquiry.

There is an urgency and demand for change across all corners of society.

Australia is also being closely watched internationally. This is Australia’s moment to be a global leader on this important and topical issue.

Report recommendations begin on Page 40 at https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/ahrc_wsh_report_2020.pdf

A short message to all members of the Morrison Coalition Government: No Means NO!

 

#NoMeansNO!

#SexualAssaultIsACrime

#SexualHarassmentIsUnlawful

#DomesticViolenceIsACrime

#EnoughIsEnough 

#EqualityAndRespect 

#WomenHaveFullCitizenship 

#HumanRightsAreWomen'sRightsToo!

Speaking Up, Australia, 15 March 2021

 

@CognitiveTX

Cartoons of the Week

Mark David

Cathy Wilcox

Alan Moir

 

When a powerful 77 year-old legal figure is finally revealed as a serial sexual harasser in the workplace

The Sydney Morning Herald,  22 June 2020:

Justice Dyson Heydon arrives at the Royal Commission into trade unions in 2015 in Sydney,CREDIT: BEN RUSHTON

Former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon, one of the nation’s pre-eminent legal minds, sexually harassed six young female associates, an independent inquiry by the court has found.

A Herald investigation has also uncovered further allegations from senior legal figures of predatory behaviour by Mr Heydon, including a judge who claims that he indecently assaulted her. The women claim that Mr Heydon’s status as one of the most powerful men in the country protected him from being held to account for his actions.

The High Court inquiry was prompted by two of the judge’s former associates notifying the Chief Justice Susan Kiefel in March 2019 that they had been sexually harassed by Mr Heydon.

“We are ashamed that this could have happened at the High Court of Australia,” said Chief Justice Kiefel in a statement. She confirmed that the lengthy investigation found that “the Honourable Dyson Heydon, AC, QC” harassed six former staff members.

“The findings are of extreme concern to me, my fellow justices, our chief executive and the staff of the court,” said the Chief Justice.

Chief Justice Kiefel has personally apologised to the six women, five of them Mr Heydon’s associates, saying “their accounts of their experiences at the time have been believed”.

Dyson Heydon was on the High Court bench from 2003-13 and in 2014 was appointed by then Prime Minister Tony Abbott to run the royal commission into trade union governance and corruption.

Mr Heydon denied the claims via his lawyers Speed and Stracey who issued a statement.....

“Dyson Heydon was one of the most powerful men in the country,” said Josh Bornstein, the women’s lawyer and a principal with law firm Maurice Blackburn in Melbourne. “As the independent investigation makes clear, he is also a sex pest. At the same time he was dispensing justice in the highest court in Australia’s legal system, he was [engaged in] sexual harassment.”

Vivienne Thom, the former Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, interviewed a dozen witnesses, including five former associates. Dr Thom’s report found that the evidence “demonstrates a tendency by Mr Heydon to engage in a pattern of conduct of sexual harassment” which included unwelcome touching, attempting to kiss the women and taking them into his bedroom.

A Herald investigation can reveal that Mr Heydon’s predatory behaviour was an “open secret” in legal and judicial circles. Not only did he prey on his young associates during his decade on the High Court until his mandatory retirement at 70 in 2013, other females in the profession suffered at his hands.....

Read the full article here.

The Guardian, 22 June 2020:

“At the time that this sexual harassment occurred, Dyson Heydon was in his 60s, a conservative judge, a prominent Catholic and a married man,” Bornstein said. 

“The women he employed were in their early 20s and often straight out of university. He was one of the most powerful men in the country, who could make or break their future careers in the law. 

Bornstein said there was an “extreme power imbalance” between Heydon and the young women. 

There was no clear avenue for women to complain about such conduct, he said. 

“The fear of his power and influence meant that the women did not feel able to come forward until recently,” he said.

STATEMENT BY THE HON SUSAN MEFEL AC,CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA (PDF)

UPDATE 

The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 2020: 

The Herald and The Age can now reveal claims about his behaviour extend to Britain where he is the subject of allegations, including inappropriate touching. 

Following his mandatory retirement from the High Court in 2013 aged 70, Dyson Heydon sought out a teaching position at the prestigious English university, where he had studied on a Rhodes scholarship in 1964. 

His three-year appointment at the Faculty of Law was greeted with excitement within the university, according to documents released under freedom of information laws...... 

Mr Heydon's lectures were scheduled to occur early each year from 2014 to 2016 inclusive. 

However, allegations about his behaviour would cast a dark shadow over Mr Heydon’s tenure. 

"My first introduction to him was that all the Australian law students at Oxford called him 'Dirty Dyson', that seemed to be the moniker he had widely," one former student said. 

One of Mr Heydon’s postgraduate students, whom the Herald and The Age have chosen not to name, was so upset and angry about Mr Heydon’s harassment of her in the Bodleian Library, that she complained to the university. 

The university decided not to renew Mr Heydon’s visiting professorship. In heavily redacted documents released to the Herald and The Age under FOI, the reason for the university's decision was not apparent. 

"The Personnel Committee has already taken a decision that Dyson Heydon should not be renewed," stated Oxford Law Faculty Dean Anne Davies in an email dated June 1, 2016. "We have written to tell him this."

The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 2020:

The ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions has recommended the Australian Federal Police investigate former High Court justice Dyson Heydon over allegations of sexual harassment following a damning investigation commissioned by the court.....

The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 2020:

Ms Coutts told the investigator she was worried that Justice Heydon "who was then a large and strong man" may try to harass her friend again. 

Ms Coutts told the investigator called in to conduct the independent inquiry, Dr Vivienne Thom, that she informed Justice McHugh of his colleague's alleged behaviour. 

According to the report, Justice McHugh allegedly replied: "Well Sharona, it's not easy to shock me these days but you have just truly shocked me." 

Ms Coutts said the following day, after further discussions with Justice McHugh, that he left the chambers, returning later to tell her: "I've told the Chief. It's his court. He has to deal with this." 

It is not known what steps were taken by then Chief Justice Murray Gleeson about Justice Heydon's behaviour. Mr McHugh declined to participate in the investigation. When contacted by the Herald and The Age, Mr Gleeson, now retired from the bench, said: "I am unwilling to comment". Mr McHugh, also retired from the bench, did not respond to emails and phone messages..... 

A group of the most senior female barristers in NSW have lodged a complaint with the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, following allegations of sexual harassment and indecent assault against Mr Heydon. The 14 silks took their action following the revelation in the Herald that a High Court investigation found Mr Heydon had sexually harassed six former associates of the court. None of the female barristers making the complaint allege they themselves were the subject of inappropriate behaviour by Mr Heydon. 

The statutory body, which acts as the professional watchdog, has powers to investigate Mr Heydon's alleged misconduct. It can determine whether Mr Heydon is a "fit and proper person" under the official admission rules for the legal profession. It can also take disciplinary action against a barrister, or commence disciplinary proceedings in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. In the most serious cases, a practitioner can be disbarred. 

Complaints to the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner are confidential. 

The move came as the NSW Bar Association president Tim Game SC released a strongly-worded message warning "barristers who engage in sexual harassment can be investigated and disciplined for professional misconduct".