Grace Tame says she received a "threatening" phone call warning her against making damning comments about Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Australian of the Year awards.
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A day after receiving a formal apology from the Prime Minister, the former Australian of the Year addressed the National Press Club alongside her friend and women's advocate Brittany Higgins.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said his office first became aware of the allegation during the address on Wednesday, and any comments meant to censor Ms Tame were "unacceptable" and "not made on behalf of the PM or PMO [Prime Minister's Office] or with their knowledge".
"The PM has not and would not authorise such actions and at all times has sought to treat Ms Tame with dignity and respect," the spokesman said.
"Ms Tame should always be free to speak her mind and conduct herself as she chooses. The PM has made no criticism of her statements or actions."
Ms Tame and Ms Higgins delivered a strong message to the nation in their press club addresses regarding the treatment of women in powerful institutions, insisting more needed to be done in spite of recent announcements.
Ms Tame said the simple message of supporting sexual violence survivors had been lost in translation, and she had been labelled "politically divisive" despite her involvement in frank discussions with politicians from all sides.
She also alleged a senior member of a government-funded organisation had phoned her on August 17 last year, five months after she had been awarded the coveted title.
The official asked her to promise she would not say anything negative against Mr Morrison during the next Australian of the Year event held in January, she claimed.
"I received a threatening phone call from a senior member of a government-funded organisation asking for my word that I wouldn't say anything damning about the Prime Minister on the evening of the next Australian of the Year awards," Ms Tame said on Wednesday.
"Then I heard the words, you know, 'We have an election coming soon'."
The advocate for sexual assault survivors said she wanted to use her platform to call for what is right.
"I made a conscious decision to stand up to evil and I have been calling out injustice ever since," she said.
"To retreat into silence now would be hypocritical.
"I would rather go down as a disappointment to an institution than sell out as a pandering political puppet to the corrupt forces that coercively control it."
The National Australia Day Council organises the Australian of the Year award ceremony. A spokesperson denied any conversations with Ms Tame were threatening.
Ms Higgins earlier called for the federal government to do more following the turbulent year she experienced after publicly airing sexual assault allegations.
Ms Higgins said the language around sexual violence needed to improve, more strong women needed to be in the room when key decisions were made, and the federal government needed to implement the 28 recommendations delivered in the review by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
"In the national conversation we have this passive, anonymous language vaguely talking about wrongs done, as if sexual violence falls out of the sky, as if it is perpetrated by no one, as if it is inflicted on no one," she said.
"Last year wasn't a march for acknowledgment. It wasn't a march for coverage. It wasn't a march for language. It was a march for justice.
"And that justice demands real change in our laws."
She also criticised the national plan for being "lofty and vague", and said it needed clear actions and targets in order to achieve its purpose.
"[The national plan is] impossible to disagree with and equally difficult to examine," she said.
The audience delivered a standing ovation as the two women entered and left the Barton building.
Among those in the crowd were cabinet ministers including senators Simon Birmingham, Marise Payne and Anne Ruston, along with junior minister Senator Jane Hume and Liberal backbenchers Dave Sharma and Bridget Archer.
Women who have been critical of the Morrison government's treatment of women, including former Chisholm MP Julia Banks and former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate, were also in attendance.
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The highly anticipated event came as the federal government prepared to introduce legislation on Wednesday aimed at implementing some of the recommendations from Ms Jenkins' landmark inquiry into parliamentary workplaces.
The sweeping investigation found one in three parliamentary staff had experienced sexual harassment and made 28 recommendations.
It was sparked after Ms Higgins went public with allegations she was raped in a ministerial office, rocking Parliament to its core. A man has pleaded not guilty to charges related to that incident.
Australia's political leaders on Tuesday acted on the first recommendation of the Jenkins review, formally apologising to all those who have experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault or bullying while working in Federal Parliament.
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Sarah Basford Canales
Harley Dennett
Karen Barlow
Contact her on karen.barlow@canberratimes.com.au
