Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I was asked about what the Prime Minister's office knew. The truth is that that goes to the heart of what this issue is. The heart of this issue goes to an alleged sexual assault by a Liberal staffer against another Liberal staff member in a Liberal minister's office in 2019, metres away from the then Liberal Prime Minister's office. When these allegations became public, two years after the Morrison government became aware of the security breach, the truth is that it sent shockwaves not just through the parliament but through the nation, as it was the first step in exposing a problematic culture in what should be Australia's safest building, the one right here.

Scott Morrison had an inquiry led by Phil Gaetjens, his former chief of staff, who was then the head of his department, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, into who knew what and when in his own office. That report has never been released. What we do know is that the Leader of the Opposition informed the Prime Minister's office prior to that information becoming public. But he didn't reveal that until 10 days after news.com.au published this information at 8 am on 15 February, and The Project aired an interview with Ms Brittany Higgins that evening. For 10 days the Leader of the Opposition said nothing about what he knew and about the fact that he informed the Prime Minister's office on that day.

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