Australia's conservative government is dealing with a new sex scandal involving male staffers that Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls "very sickening" and "absolutely shameful."
Morrison says he was "shocked" by leaked videos of male government staff performing "disgusting" acts in Parliament, including one of a man masturbating on the desk of a female lawmaker.
The prime minister has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for his handling of sexual assault accusations, including that of a political adviser who was raped by a colleague in a government minister's office.
Another involves Attorney-General Christian Porter, who allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988 when he was 17, an accusation he denies.
The photos and videos from the Australian Parliament, which had allegedly been shared in a group chat of coalition government staff before being leaked by a whistleblower, were first made public by The Australian newspaper and Channel 10 late Monday.
"The actions of these individuals show a staggering disrespect for the people who work in parliament, and for the ideals the parliament is supposed to represent," The Straits Times quoted Morrison as saying in a statement.
According to the whistleblower, identified only as Tom, government staffers and MPs used a prayer room in the Parliament House to have sex, and claimed that prostitutes were brought into the building "for the pleasure of coalition MPs," Agence France-Presse said.
"These are men that write our laws ... what they've done is violating behavior. It's physical. It's sexualizing, objectifying behavior. It makes me feel physically sick," Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe said in remarks quoted by The Taipei Times, citing a tweet.
Australia's parliament has been repeatedly condemned for its "toxic" work environment that has allegedly engendered bullying and sexual harassment of women, particularly in the ruling coalition.
