Former member of Australian parliament accuses government minister of sexual misconduct
06 July 2021
A former Member of Australian Parliament Julia Banks criticized Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday after accusing a current government minister of inappropriately touching her at Parliament House in Canberra in 2017.
Driving the news: Banks told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Monday night that she was "on a couch talking to another MP" when the minister sat down and "put his hand on my knee and ran it up my leg, on the upper part of my leg." Morrison's office said he hadn't been aware of the allegations.
Why it matters: Morrison had faced backlash in recent months for his government's management of earlier sexual abuse scandals, including allegations of rape in Parliament House that triggered massive protests across Australia against the sexual abuse and harassment of women.
- Morrison said in response in April that politicians and judges in Australia would no longer be exempt from rules barring workplace sexual harassment.
The big picture: Banks told the ABC that the culture she experienced during her time with the ruling Liberal Party was like the TV show "Mad Men." She's expanded on her allegations in her new book, "Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs."
- Banks accused Morrison on Tuesday of being in control of "bully boys" who "hounded" her after she left the party in 2018 when former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was ousted in a leadership contest that saw Morrison become leader, per the ABC.
What they're saying: The prime minister's office released a statement to news outlets Tuesday saying: "The Prime Minister is not aware of any allegations of sexual harassment Ms Banks faced. Any such behavior is completely inappropriate."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.