Australia PM Scott Morrison addresses parliament culture in emotional press conference

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a press conference at Parliament House today. Photo / Getty Images

In an emotional press conference today, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was shocked by a month of revelations over alleged rapes, sexual assault and "disgusting behaviour" by men at Parliament House.

"I was completely stumped, as I have been on more than one occasion over the course of this last month," Morrison said. "These events have triggered, right across this building and indeed right across the country, women who have put up with this rubbish and this crap for their entire lives, as their mothers did, as their grandmothers did."

The PM's press conference comes after a Liberal staffer was sacked on Monday following revelations he had sent an image of himself performing a lewd act on a female MP's desk to a group of fellow staffers.

It is the latest scandal to rock Parliament House and Morrison said he was disgusted by the episode. "I know there are plenty of women who work in this building today, whether they be members or senators, investors, shadow ministers, staff, journalists, who say, 'Why should I bother? Why should I bother? Why should I not just walk away?'" the PM said.

When pressed on how he could have only been informed of the incident last night, Morrison warned "not all of us who sit in glass houses here [should] start getting into that" and said media organisations faced allegations of their own.

"There are serious issues here that no one individual can be overwatch on every inch of this place every second of the day, and I don't think any Australian has that reasonable expectation," Morrison said.

Morrison and @aclennell clash at presser:

"Let's not all of us who sit in glass houses here start getting into that" #MediaWatch #auspol pic.twitter.com/Q5BpVmCCo3

— Media Watch (@ABCmediawatch) March 22, 2021

The Prime Minister acknowledged it had been a "traumatic month" in parliament since former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in the building in 2019.

Morrison has been criticised for saying he had viewed Higgins' allegation through the prism of his own daughters. He accepted he could have "chosen different words" but said the comments were made "in the best of faith" and no offence was intended.

"Criticise me if you like for speaking about my daughters, but they are the centre of my life,'' he said. "My wife is the centre of my life. My mother, my widowed mother is the centre of my life.

"They motivate me every day on this issue. They have motivated me my entire life, they have taught me the values and the faith that sustains me every single day in this job."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a press conference at Parliament House today. Photo / Getty Images

The Prime Minister said he was considering the issue of consent education in schools and greater funding for rape crisis centres.

"All of the above, and more, and if you go across the fourth National action plan, and a Social Services Minister I had responsibility for earlier national action plans, they include all of these things,'' he said.

"Is important to remember that these action plans are done together with the states and territories and many of the services delivered are also delivered by the states, so this is something we generally have to do together, and we have been doing together.

"But I would urge that the path we have to go down is one that we have to go down together. This is not an issue that should be the subject of partisan contest, it really shouldn't. That will slow us down, that will not get the outcomes."