Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say that I feel physically ill. The absolute hypocrisy shown by those opposite today is quite simply breathtaking. In fact, it's beyond that. It's actually disgusting. From a group who, before the election, were all about integrity and transparency, those in government—those that sit opposite—are now treating not only this chamber but the Australian people as if we're all mugs. Shame on you, and shame on all of you that are running a protection racket around this disgusting politicisation and absolutely disgusting weaponisation of an allegation.

It is absolutely disgusting, and it is a protection racket being run for Senator Gallagher—and, quite frankly, who else? We've been patronised today as Senator Gallagher has lectured us on her supposed integrity. She must be joking. Seriously, that must be almost clinically diagnosable as delusional, because that is unbelievable. We heard Senator Wong say that we don't know the half of it. Perhaps, Senator Wong, you should fill us in on what the other half is. What is the other half that we don't know? Maybe the chamber should hear.

I was in the estimates. I'd never seen Senators Wong or Gallagher attend Community Affairs ever. But, as soon as Senator Reynolds appeared in the chair, in they came to bully and badger like I have never seen. I cannot help but sit here today and think about my friend Kimberley Kitching and what she must have gone through in the final weeks and months of her life—what absolute bullying she must have been subjected to by those who were determined to weaponise rape allegations, which were apparently so private that, rather than going to the police, they were aired through an orchestrated media campaign. It would appear now, and increasingly so, that that was orchestrated with the help of those sitting on the front bench in the then opposition in this chamber. It is absolutely disgraceful.

This isn't just an opinion coming from me and those of us who sat through it over the last few years, who saw our colleague absolutely bullied to the point of hospitalisation all because of the questions they were asking: 'Why didn't Senator Reynolds go to the police herself?' 'Why didn't Senator Reynolds trot down to the PMO to let the Prime Minister know as soon as she found out?' It's because, at the time—and as has been acknowledged—Ms Higgins didn't want that. Ms Higgins didn't want to go to police. She didn't want anybody else to know. She asked Senator Reynolds and Ms Brown to keep it confidential.

Yet, when those opposite were in opposition, that wasn't good enough. Senator Reynolds was badgered and bullied to the point of hospitalisation, without a blink from those opposite. So it's interesting, and I just want to take a moment, maybe for the sake of those in the gallery, to say that the Australian has run two editorials five days apart—and you really don't usually see them run multiple editorials on the same issue. I'm not going to go through them all, but they are very much worth a read. They are from 8 June and 13 June. I quote:

The extent of what appears to be collusion between Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz and political figures demands that a proper investigation be launched into a decision to award more than $2m in compensation to Ms Higgins with what could be considered a questionable regard for proper process.

Well, 'questionable regard'—it took less than one day, and there was no ability for anyone to contest the allegations that were made.

A proper inquiry must be held into the extent of what appears to be political collusion on the Higgins rape allegations. Taxpayers—that's you, me and everybody else in this country—deserve to know how the decision was made to award Ms Higgins millions of dollars in compensation and exactly who was involved. It is absolutely beyond the pale for Minister Gallagher to come in here and say to the Australian Senate and the Australian people that she did not mislead them when she very clearly did—we all heard it—and to pretend that there is nothing to see here.