The Federal Government has been accused of turning a deaf ear as thousands rallied for better treatment.

Women, men and children turned out at more than 40 Women’s March 4 Justice rallies across the nation, raising their voices against inequality and gendered violence. 

In Canberra, the group handed a petition addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, requesting four immediate actions:

  • Independent investigations into all cases of gendered violence

  • Fully implementing the 55 recommendations in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces 2020

  • Lifting public funding for gendered violence prevention

  • A federal Gender Equality Act

Organisers of the protest rally refused to meet with the Prime Minister privately in Parliament House, after he said he would not attend the Canberra rally in person.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack had over the weekend stated that his schedule was so full on Monday, he would not have the time to walk outside and meet with the protestors. 

Luckily, one of the organisers of the rally, Janine Hendry, found Mr McCormack wandering around in the press gallery, making himself available to the media.

Ms Hendry took the opportunity to ask when there would be action on the recommendations of an Australian Human Rights Commission report into sexual harassment.

“To be clear,” she said, “the Australian Human Rights Commission report landed on the Attorney-General’s desk over 12 months ago and we have not seen any implementation of the recommendations that were in that report. And it was pretty scathing. When you tell me that you’re willing to look at it, I’m going to tell you, I want some action.”

 Mr McCormack responded; “Okay”.

“The women of Australia want some action. We’re drawing a line in the sand right here, right now,” she said.

“OK, all right,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

“Will you give me that assurance?” Ms Hendry demanded.

“I’m certain that we’ll absolutely look at it,” said Mr McCormack.

Later on, the Prime Minister suggested the protestors were lucky not to get shot. 

“Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in question time.  

“But not here in this country. Not here in this country. This is a triumph of democracy when we see these things take place,” he said.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said Mr Morrison had “not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete” in failing to act on calls for change.

While Mr Morrison and his closest allies did not attend Canberra’s March 4 Justice protest, more than a dozen Coalition MPs did, including frontbenchers Jane Hume, Melissa Price, Zed Seselja and Luke Howarth. About three-quarters of the Labor caucus joined the rally, as did many of their staff.

Liberal MP Celia Hammond told Parliament that there is a strong need for cultural change in society, in politics and in the criminal justice system.

“We must refuse to accept that just because it has always been this way it should continue that way,” she said. 

“Personally, I refuse to accept that an acceptable response to all of this is to suck it up, toughen up, move on.”

She called on her own colleagues and their opposition to “engage in a truly genuine non-partisan process, not one that is carried out via a polemical tit-for-tat or the vile anonymous sewer that inhabits vast portions of social media”.