Parliament’s toxic workplace culture started long before Scott Morrison, but now it’s his task to handle

The early signs of an earthquake can often be easy to miss.

Above the ground, the initial tremors can seem innocuous. But deep below, the tectonic shifting of plates can set in motion a series of events that rip apart the earth and bring down all that stands above it.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison could be forgiven for missing the early signs of the quake that would destabilise his government and upend the nation’s political landscape.

When those early tremors started, Morrison was riding high. The nation was bouncing back from an economic recession and the man who’d won an unlikely victory years earlier appeared on track for re-election.

His focus was solely on a successful vaccine rollout, which he hoped would bolster the public’s…