The Greens say the Prime Minister’s reshuffle is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and won’t fix entrenched cultural and systemic issues in parliament or improve the lives of Australian women.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Larissa Waters said:

“A whole one additional woman in Cabinet will not change the rank and sexist culture in this government, the Liberal Party, or the parliament.

The Greens say the Prime Minister’s expected Cabinet reshuffle is another cosmetic response to systemic failures and have called on the government to immediately act to protect women in parliament and across the country.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Larissa Waters said:

“The PM is treating this issue of sexual violence against women and endemic misogyny as another PR problem to be managed away.

Responding to today’s press conference by the Prime Minister on women’s safety and the culture of parliament house, Greens leader in the Senate Larissa Waters said:

The Greens have again called for a comprehensive national approach to consent training after Education Minister Alan Tudge today revealed the government’s weak-kneed response to growing demands for change.

“This response from the Morrison government to the roar of fury from women and girls everywhere is predictably too little and too late,” said Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women.

In the wake of recent parliamentary sexual abuse revelations and the petition started by Chanel Contos, the Greens have used International Women’s Day to call for $190 million to be allocated in the May Budget to fund respectful relationships education including sexual consent in all schools across the country.

$190 million over four years would support rolling out Our Watch’s respectful relationships education program, which has been successfully piloted in Victoria and Queensland.

The Greens have cautiously welcomed today’s announcement into a review of workplace culture in Federal Parliament but say a culture review alone is not enough.

“This long-overdue review into workplace culture in parliament by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner is a promising step towards making our workplace safe for women, but the proof will be in the pudding of whether the Government acts on the recommendations once they are made,” said Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women.

The Attorney General must stand down and there must be an independent inquiry into the rape allegations, otherwise there will be a chilling effect on survivors speaking out, said the Greens today following the revelation of the identity of the cabinet minister.

“Today’s press conference by Christian Porter denying the rape allegations will have been extremely distressing to sexual assault survivors everywhere,” said Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women.

The Prime Minister has asked his former chief of staff, now head of his own department, to investigate what Prime Minister’s office knew about an alleged rape of a government staffer, which The Greens say is just perpetuating the cover up.
 
“Every day, more damning information comes out about the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office.  We need to get to the bottom of it." said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.
 

Response to PM’s letter
 
"The Greens welcome the apparent acknowledgement by the PM that the review of the complaints and support process should be conducted not by his Deputy Secretary but independently of government", said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and Spokesperson for Women.
 
"Likewise, the Prime Minister should now make the culture review independent, not by a Liberal MP, and the Greens still assert that the Sex Discrimination Commissioner is best placed to do such a review.