The appointment of sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins to lead the independent inquiry into Commonwealth Parliamentary workplaces is about the only positive to emerge from Brittany Higgins's courageous disclosures about her alleged rape to date.
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Ms Higgins's decision was underpinned by what she saw as the inept and politicised way her original rape complaint was dealt with.
Ms Higgins has criticised the support she received from at least two female cabinet ministers, Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash. Her disclosures raised questions about who knew what when, and why the Prime Minister was not advised of allegations of a rape in a senior minister's office in a timely fashion.
While Ms Reynolds subsequently apologised to Ms Higgins for the way the rape allegation was dealt with, it emerged on Thursday that when she first heard of Ms Higgins' remarks on The Project she called her a "lying cow" in front of staff.
Then, despite having the opportunity to retract and apologise, she issued a clarification saying the comment was about what had been said about the lack of support, not the allegation of rape. Ms Higgins did not receive the apology she had been calling for until Friday morning. The Prime Minister was still trying to explain away his minister's action even after the apology had been issued.
He reiterated Ms Reynolds had not been talking about the allegations of rape, that she had - belatedly - offered an apology, that the comment had not been made in public, that Ms Reynolds had had a "very traumatic week" at the time, that she was still on leave and "she maintains my confidence".
None of this suggests either the Defence Minister, or the Prime Minister, have learnt much from recent events.
This, in itself, is proof Mr Morrison's reluctant decision to drop his plans for a review of standards within the Coalition to be headed by Liberal MP Celia Hammond in favour of the comprehensive and independent review into the culture of Parliament House and the laws governing political staffers being championed by Ms Higgins, Labor, the Greens and the crossbenchers, was correct.
Unfortunately even the announcement the government was finally going to do the right thing could have been handled better.
While the government's Senate leader, Simon Birmingham, who broke the news, made much of extensive consultation across party lines in establishing the review it soon became apparent the ALP had not been kept in the loop.
When asked about the Jenkins review the Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, was quick to point out the details were news to him and that it would have been nice to have been given a heads up before the announcement.
"We'll examine the details of the announcement and respond accordingly," he said.
So, in summary, while it is obvious Ms Jenkins is the most appropriate person to carry out this task and, if she is given the room and the resources to fulfil the extensive terms of reference, there is hope this could lead to meaningful change, the government can't be let off the hook.
Scott Morrison must demonstrate a deep and sustained commitment to change, something that was clearly lacking as recently as midday Friday. There is much he needs to do, not the least of which is championing the election of more female Liberal and National Party MPs and including more women in his cabinet.
What is the chance of some quotas, Prime Minister?
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