Daily US Times: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been under fire for interrupting a senior female minister who was responding to a question about what it’s like to be a woman in parliament.
The minister for families and social services, Anne Ruston, was asked if the culture for women in parliament had improved.
But the minister was interrupted a few words into her response.
The incident comes amid reports of sexual misconduct in parliament.
An investigation by ABC News’ Four Corners looked at allegations of inappropriate behaviour within the ruling Liberal Party.
In a press conference on Tuesday, the Australian Prime Minister attempted to address the investigation. However his interruption of minister Ruston garnered more attention on social media.
Ms Ruston was asked whether things had changed in parliament since the introduction of the so-called “bonk ban”, a ban introduced by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull back in 2018 that prohibited sexual relations between ministers and staff.
Video of the incident has been viral on social media.
“Scott, just let her speak,” said South Australia Senator Penny Wong wrote, while others accused the prime minister of being “tone deaf”.
After being asked again, Ms Ruston was able to respond and she replied that she had felt “wholly supported” during her time in parliament.
The ABC investigation raised questions about the behaviour of Liberal Party’s male members including that of Attorney-General Christian Porter.
The investigation said the Attorney-General had been warned by Mr Turnbull about public behaviour with a female member of staff in a bar. Shortly after, the former PM introduced the “bonk ban”.
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