Liberal MP Karen Andrews alleges sexual harassment by male colleague during Parliament’s Question Time as backbencher

Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews has spoken out on the sexual harassment she was subjected to whilst in Parliament, revealing a male colleague repeatedly breathed down her neck during Question Time sittings.

Ms Andrews, who served on the Coalition cabinet under the Morrison government, told ABC TV’s Kitchen Cabinet she frequently endured provocative behaviour in the House of Representatives but faced isolation speaking out about incidents being a backbencher at the time.

“I’d just be sitting there minding my own business and I would have the back of my neck breathed on,” she told host Annabel Crabb on Monday.

“And if I asked a question, it would be, ‘That was a great question, thrusting and probing.’

“But do you know what the issue is? Well, there would be people that would say, ‘Can’t you take a joke? Can she not take a joke?’ I mean, really… and sometimes I do call it out, but sometimes I just go, ‘I can’t be in every fight.'”

In the interview, Ms Andrews detailed how her career as a politician was ridden by gender discrimination, unlike any of her prior roles in predominantly male industries.

“Through all of those careers, not once did I think being a female made any difference,” she said.

“But I went to politics and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt I had to fight for things simply because I was a woman.

“It’s depressing. That is depressing. So I don’t know, to be honest, that it’s going to change in my lifetime and that is really sad.”

The Liberal MP for Queensland’s McPherson electorate stepped down from her party’s frontbench earlier this year and announced she would take retirement from politics at the next federal election.

Ms Andrews’ allegations come as the umpteenth addition to a string of sexual inappropriacy incidents in the Australian parliament, with the landmark Jenkins inquiry in November 2021 finding gender inequality was a “primary driver of misconduct” relating to bullying, harassment and assault in workplaces.

Sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins’ review into toxic parliamentary workplace culture found one of three interviewed staffers had been sexually harassed, following which 28 recommendations were made for implementation over four years.

Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham, the then-Minister for Finance, had committed to actioning all the proposals.

Questioned on Ms Andrews’ revelations on Tuesday, he said it was the first he had heard of them and encouraged the Liberal MP to “utilise the processes” put in place by the Jenkins inquiry.

“As the former finance minister who put in place the initial reforms from the Jenkins review establishing the parliamentary Workplace support service, I urge anybody in this circumstance to use that service that has been established to provide for an independent, impartial, credible and confidential process for any improper actions to occur,” Senator Birmingham said at a doorstop.

“This workplace, like any other workplace, should be one of respect of safety, and it does now have proper processes in place to deal with any issues.

“Those processes are there, and they are there that I would encourage any member in any circumstance, any staff member in this building or any other to utilise those processes that haven’t been in place all that long.

“They are important reforms that were put in place following the Jenkins Review and they provide for mechanisms that ought to be utilised.”

Ms Andrews has not revealed the identity of the alleged harasser.