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Australian PM Reshuffles Cabinet Amid Sexual Misconduct Scandals

VOA News

   Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reshuffled his cabinet in
   response to a series of sexual misconduct scandals that have rocked his
   ruling Liberal Party.

   Morrison announced Monday inthe country'scapital,Canberra,that
   Michaelia Cash will replace Christian Potter as attorney-general, while
   Peter Dutton will assume the defense portfolio from Linda Reynolds.

   Potter has been on mental health leave ever since reports surfaced
   several weeks ago that he was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in
   1988 when he was 17 years old, an allegation Potter denies. Police have
   announced they will not bring any charges against Potter since his
   accuser has since died.

   Reynolds came under intense criticism when she called a former female
   staff member, Brittany Higgins, "a lying cow" after Higgins publicly
   came forward with allegations that she had been raped by a senior
   staffer in Parliament House in 2019.Reynolds said she was not referring
   to Higgins' allegations, but the description of how she was treated
   after coming forward. Reynolds later apologized for her comments.

   Both Potter and Reynolds have been reassigned new positions in
   Morrison's cabinet.The scandals prompted mass rallies across Australia
   in late February with protesters demanding an end to sexual violence
   against women.

   In addition to the scandals involving Potter and Reynolds, the
   conservative Liberal Party has been hit with recent news reports
   alleging several male staffers had filmed themselves performing sex
   acts in Parliament House, including on the desk of at least one female
   lawmaker, and shared the images on a special Facebook group chat page.

   Along with the cabinet reshuffling, Prime Minister Morrison says he was
   starting a new Cabinet task force that will address issues of
   women'sequality, safety, economic security, health and wellbeing.
   Morrison will head the task force along with Marisa Payne, the minister
   for women.

   Morrison'sapproval rating haddroppedby seven points, while another
   recent poll shows his Liberal Party trailing the opposition Labor Party
   by just four points.