Sydney. The Australian Prime Minister, Conservative Scott Morrison, on Monday removed two heavyweights from his government and relegated them to smaller portfolios following a rape scandal.

Morrison announced the removal of Defense Minister Linda Reynolds and Attorney General Christian Porter, who is the government’s top legal adviser, from their portfolios.

The Prime Minister also announced the promotion of several women in the administration, adding that his new team has “the largest female representation” in the history of the Australian government.

The Conservative leader has been exposing the sexuality of Australian political culture for weeks and has sparked protests across the country.

Former government official Brittany Higgins was raped last month by a colleague in the Reynolds office of Parliament in 2019, when she was then defense minister.

Reynolds, who became defense minister at the time, was critical of the way his cabinet handled the young woman’s allegations.

In early March, Porter was charged in 1988 with raping a 16-year-old classmate, which he denies. The victim died last year.

Both ministers were out for several weeks and Morrison promised they would return to their posts.

By redesign, they are in government, but they have been downgraded. Reynolds restores the portfolio of government services and the porter industry, science and technology.

This change does not seem to help calm the anger of a section of the community.