Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been forced to defend the government’s handling of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation and the historic rape allegation against Christian Porter in a bombshell A Current Affair interview.
Host Tracy Grimshaw interrogated the Prime Minister on Thursday night’s episode, asking why he’s chosen to taken a reserved approach to serious allegations of sexual misconduct within Parliament House.
During the heated exchange, a clearly frustrated Grimshaw told Morrison he was in a “bubble” and didn’t understand the issues Australian women face on a daily basis.
The host appeared particularly disturbed when Morrison commented that the severity of violence faced by women every day had only started to become more “crystallised in this past five weeks” since Ms Higgins came forward.
“Are you saying really that the enormity of this issue, that women deal with every single day, has only become apparent to you in the last month?” she asked.
Morrison denied that, saying he was “doing everything I can to understand it as best I can”.
Grimshaw questioned him further, asking him to explain why he hadn’t taken any action prior to the allegation made by Brittany Higgins.
“If you are saying you have been aware of the enormity of this issue preceding Brittany Higgins coming out a month ago…” Grimshaw began.
“At a different level, “ the prime minister interrupted. “This has taken me deeper into this issue than I’ve appreciated before.”
“Where have you been?” Grimshaw questioned.
“I think that’s a bit unfair Tracy,” Morrison said. “Because I think there are many people across this country who – you lived with it everyday. You’ve lived with it, I’m sure you’re whole life you have.
“Women do. But you are not on an island, or maybe you are in a bubble. You must know, you have a wife, you have daughters, you have referenced them several times. How did you not know the depth of it?” Grimshaw argued.
The prime minister maintained that the case of Brittany Higgins had served as a “wake-up call”, which had “taken me deeper into this issue than I have appreciated before”.
“It hasn’t been a wake-up call to 52% of Australians,” Grimshaw hit back.