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