Most females I know who have been in business at senior levels have, in their career, faced inappropriate advances &/or behaviour. Any person, male or female, who has managed a reasonable sized business has at some point had to deal with complaints of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace. I would add that it isn’t always just women who are the alleged victims. Men can also be victims, but many are not willing to come forward because of stereotyping. In fact, the parliamentary review also highlighted that as an issue in Canberra.
The difference between business & the behaviours we are witnessing in Canberra from the so-called leaders of the country & their support staff is this. In business, the alleged victim does not use the “loudhailer” to announce over the company intercom system that they’ve been abused.
Nor do they take out full page adds in the media, brief journalists & name & shame people. In business, dependent on the severity, they deal with it themselves. They report it to HR for action or they take legal action.
Any business leader worth their salt would support a staff member in doing the same. Members of parliament are akin to business leaders. They are for all intents & purposes senior staff yet many are behaving like wet behind the ears juveniles. They ignore due-process and the presumption of innocence in their political game of point scoring. It is outrageous behaviour.
Dennis Shanahan summed it up beautifully in the Australian today when he wrote.
“Rape and sexual assault claims have devoured the parliamentary and political agenda, salaciously, sadly and sordidly corrupting the public discourse to the detriment of victims, justice and decency.
Genuine complaints, despicable behaviour, confected outrage, partisan opportunism, public prosecution in the media and the exploitation of parliamentary privilege over the past three years have created a fatal and irretrievable collapse of public standards.
As a result of the politicisation and exploitation of sexual assault allegations, there has been an erosion of appropriate and proper behaviour. At the same time, there has been a rise in instantaneous political and public gratification that demeans such serious allegations, removes privacy and confidentiality, dumps the presumption of innocence and ignores the correct handling of justice. This has to end. Well, at least it should end.”
I am angry and I am equally disgusted with the behaviours and the feigned contrition of some. I am disgusted with the prime minister for not having the guts to deal with those within his party who have behaved reprehensibly in politicising accusations of assault to attack fellow members of parliament. I am disgusted that hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money has being handed over without the accused having the right to defend themselves. I am angry that parliament is being used as the loudhailer to announce allegations of sexual assault within the workplace.
With Lidia Thorpe, I am sorry she was prayed upon if, in fact, she was. But to wait three years, then to use parliamentary privilege to make an announcement, withdraw it and follow-up the following day with sweeping accusations against the male members of parliament is an applauding abuse of parliament. All that does is cast doubt on everyone. She has refused to go to the police and instead seeks to chase headlines rather than actually do something positive to deal with the problem. We are seeing far too much of that.
The moral compass of those holding themselves up as leaders of the country, both male and female, has plummeted to an all-time low. If the likes of Labor’s senior members, including the prime minister, the opportunist Lidia Thorpe and the Liberal’s senator, Van, is the best we have, then God help us.
Now more than ever, we need to trust in our leaders to help us out of the worst economic environment many of us have ever faced. Frankly, with the prime minister we have and some of his key people who are in the driver’s seat, I wouldn’t trust them to clean a sewer.
All I can say is God help Australia, because we certainly can’t trust the government.
This has to end.
