Former Liberal MP Julia Banks details allegation of inappropriate touching and sexism during time in politics

Former federal Liberal MP Julia Banks has alleged she was touched inappropriately by a senior male colleague and subjected to a culture “underpinned by sexism and misogyny” during her time in Parliament. 

In an extract from her new book, published in today’s Good Weekend magazine, Ms Banks alleged an unnamed Coalition minister slid his hand up her inner thigh during a function at Parliament House, around a year after she was elected in 2016. 

“For a minister to do this in the prime minister’s wing, which was full of Coalition MPs, he had to be astoundingly brazen,” she wrote. 

“I found it unbelievable. And I momentarily froze.”

Ms Banks resigned from the Liberal Party several months after Malcolm Turnbull was rolled as prime minister.

She later contested the seat of Flinders as an independent but was unsuccessful. 

Ms Banks described the period between the leadership change and her decision to move to the crossbench as the “most distressing, gut-wrenching period” of her career. 

“After the August 2018 leadership coup that installed Scott Morrison as prime minister, I felt the full brunt of a culture of fear and silence, underpinned by sexism and misogyny,” she said. 

She accused Mr Morrison of using a “Trumpesque tone” to try to dissuade her from announcing that she would not be recontesting her seat.

“During this period, Morrison was like constant, menacing, background wallpaper, imperceptibly controlling his obliging intermediaries to do his work for him,” Ms Banks said.

“I would find out from various reliable sources that during the agreed 24 hours before I released my statement, there was intense backgrounding from the Prime Minister’s Office and other senior Liberal sources to the media that I was a weak, over-emotional woman who had not coped with the coup week.”

Prime Minister ‘not aware’ of sexual harassment allegations

A spokesperson for Mr Morrison said he “absolutely rejects” claims about the nature of his conversations with Ms Banks.

“The Prime Minister was disappointed in Ms Banks’ decision to quit the parliamentary party and had several conversations with her to understand what she was going through to see what support could be offered before she made her decision,” a statement said. 

“That included support for personal leave so she could take the time to recover from the upset many people suffered during that period. Several of Ms Banks’ colleagues had similar conversations.”

The statement said Mr Morrison was not aware of any allegations of sexual harassment Ms Banks had faced and that any such behaviour was “completely inappropriate”.

It also pointed to the review of Parliament’s workplace culture, being carried out by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, in response to former staffer Brittany Higgins’ allegation that she was raped in a ministerial office.

“In addition, the government has released the consultation report provided by Stephanie Foster PSM into the processes and procedures relating to serious incidents in the parliamentary workplace,” the statement said.

“This report has made some significant findings and recommendations to improve how serious incidents are prevented and dealt with in the parliamentary workplace.”