Christine Holgate is but the latest female victim of the wretched, toxic masculine culture which pervades many of Australia’s political, corporate and sporting institutions. Her tale forcefully related to a Senate committee exposure once again of a culture where male power-plays exact a fearful toll on women: in Christine’s case causing her to contemplate suicide. Women at work are simply not afforded rights which men take for granted.

While the government has been at pains to point out that allegations are not proof of wrongdoing and everyone has right to due process, these principles went out the window in the case of Ms Holgate. Precisely what political machinations lie behind her dismissal is hard to tell, but the suggestions of impropriety which were flimsy to start with have been shown to be baseless.

Much work needs to be done to repair a male culture which ranges from the feckless to the malign, starting in our schools and filtering up into all our workplaces.