Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Sexual harassment should never be okay. It shouldn't be okay in this place. It shouldn't be okay in any place. There are steps that the government is going to be taking to address that matter in our response to the work program that has been recommended to us by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner in the Respect@Work report. I have personally taken on the responsibility of ensuring this response is in place very soon. It will be made available before the budget. I am working with the Acting Attorney-General and the Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General to ensure that that response goes to the very matters that you raise and the remedies that can be put in place by this parliament. That report also goes to many actions that can be undertaken, I hope, also by state and territory governments, where these matters are also subject to their laws. I would hope that that would also be taken up by those jurisdictions and I look forward to raising those matters when national cabinet meets after the Easter break. So I agree—it has no place anywhere.

Now, it is not for me to make commentary about what judgements people make about me and whether or not I have listened. I can only say to the women of Australia, as I said yesterday: what Australian women are looking for from me is to demonstrate my understanding of the issues that they have raised and that I am listening to the great pain that they have been enduring. I acknowledge that there is further work, not only for me to do but for many people in this place, and that is what I am committed to doing. I am not going to stand here at this dispatch box and do what blokes do and say, 'Well, I'm a bloke. I've got the solution to your problem and here it is—here's the fix.' That would be to approach this issue exactly from the wrong paradigm.

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