The president of the University of Wollongong's Liberal Club has hit out at the "disgusting" actions against women by some politicians and staffers in Canberra.
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In recent weeks the Coalition government has been facing a series of allegations about sexual assault and harassment of women.
UOW Liberal Club president Mikayla Barnes said she was "disgusted" by what had occurred.
"There is no place in Parliament, let alone society for this type of disgusting behaviour," Miss Barnes said.
"For women in the party it is quite challenging. I'm only the second female president we've had.
"This type of behaviour will only make it harder for women, especially those who are considering becoming politicians."
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins sparked the conversation when she went public about her alleged rape by a colleague in Parliament House.
Attorney-General Christian Porter is also on mental health leave after vehemently denying claims he raped a 16-year-old girl when he was 17.
A federal Liberal staffer was also sacked over a video of himself performing a lewd act on the desk of a female MP in Parliament House.
It has since been reported that the staffer took another video of himself performing a sex act on someone else in what he said was his boss' office.
On Monday, the ABC reported senior government ministers were resisting calls for Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming to resign, after allegations aired by Channel 9 that he harassed and bullied women.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appointed sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins to run an investigation into the workplace culture at Parliament House and responses to sexual harassment and assault.
Mr Morrison has said he is also "very open" to the idea of introducing quotas for female MPs.
Labor introduced quotas for women running in winnable seats in the mid-1990s, which has led to almost half the federal caucus being female compared with just one-quarter of the Coalition.
Two prominent female Liberal backbenchers have also called for politicians to be drug and alcohol tested as part of wider workplace cultural reforms at Parliament House.
Miss Barnes supported the move to have quotas as well as testing politicians for drug and alcohol.
"Bringing in quotas is a great start," she said.
"I also support drug and alcohol testing. It is done in many other workplaces so it should be introduced in Parliament House as well.
"We need to do everything we can to eliminate the type of behaviour that has been happening lately."
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
