The former Liberal staffer who alleges she was raped in Parliament House is set to make a statement to ACT Policing on Wednesday as she seeks to re-open the criminal investigation.
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At the same time the number of inquiries under way since Brittany Higgins made the allegation has reduced, with Liberal MP Celia Hammond recommending to Prime Minister Scott Morrison that her tasks be absorbed into the wider independent review being shaped by Finance Minister Simon Birmingham.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has been under intense pressure to detail her response to the allegations in 2019 when she employed Ms Higgins.
On Wednesday, Senator Reynolds was admitted to Canberra Hospital as a precautionary measure and will take indefinite medical leave.
The step was taken following advice from her cardiologist relating to a pre-existing medical condition, Senator Reynolds said in a statement.
The minister had been due to give a National Press Club address later Wednesday on security matters, but was expected to face a grilling over the treatment of her former staffer Brittany Higgins after she reported an alleged sexual assault in the minister's office.
On Tuesday, she referenced a second meeting with the Australian Federal Police for the first time.
She later backtracked, promising to check her records to confirm the sequence of events after she found out about the alleged rape.
Ms Hammond said it was important the multitude of reviews didn't contribute to retraumatising victims by having to repeat their stories multiple times, and made immediate recommendations around existing training platforms being made more known to members.
Senator Birmingham met with representatives from the Greens on Monday and was expected to meet with Labor on Tuesday, ahead of releasing terms and details of the inquiry expected next week.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters wants the review to include input from current and former staffers, and take no longer than six months to report back and return interim reports.
Mr Morrison told reporters he expected the report to be made public.
"I would hope that to be a reasonable timeframe and I would expect that to be well in advance of the next election," he said.
"So that would be my hope and expectation. I suspect that view would be shared by the other party leaders representing the many parties that are in our parliament."
Efforts are under way within the parties to ensure internal processes are improving ahead of the inquiries, the independent one of which is expected to take months to report back. A process within the Greens started in the wake of the Four Corners report on relationships between government ministers and staffers in November last year and continues.
A counsellor was available within Parliament House on Tuesday for staffers to visit if needed.
On Tuesday, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese told colleagues Mr Morrison lacked credibility in saying he only found out about the incident on Monday last week.
Mr Morrison is sticking to the timeline that his office fielded questions about the incident on February 12 but didn't tell him for almost three days.
"I have been very open about when I knew about these matters, and indeed when they were brought to the attention of my office," he told parliament.
Mr Morrison said it would be crucial to determine why political staff felt inhibited about raising allegations with police.
"I believe there is an issue to address here, regarding the culture of the workplace of this parliament," he said.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds faltered under pressure in the Senate where she faced another day of questions about her handling of the incident.
She initially revealed a second meeting with the Australian Federal Police after Ms Higgins spoke to them but later appeared unsure.
Senator Reynolds promised to check her records and return to the chamber to confirm.
Ms Higgins is adamant senior members of Mr Morrison's staff - including one of his most trusted advisers - were aware of the incident in 2019.
Both Labor and the Greens are sceptical of the review into who knew what and when of Ms Higgin's allegation in the Prime Minister's office, to be conducted by the secretary of the Prime Minister's department, and his former chief of staff Phil Gaetjens.
"After sports rorts I have zero confidence in any process led by Gaetjens," Labor leader Anthony Albanese told a caucus meeting.
Mr Morrison has not committed to make the report public, waiting to make that decision until after seeing its contents.
Senator Birmingham confirmed the man accused by Ms Higgins was not issued a lobbyist pass for unescorted entry to parliament after being sacked from his ministerial adviser job.
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