Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Set the standard, just three words that say so much. This report by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is a reminder of our obligation as a parliament to lead by example. It catalogues in personal testimony and shocking statistics our failure to do so. It is also a demand that we act right now.

We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone in this building as well as every former staff member who stepped up to share their experiences of workplace bullying and misconduct, of sexual harassment and, most traumatically, of sexual assault. I also acknowledge particularly the women who bravely stood up and called out a culture of mistreatment, which brought this issue into the light. I particularly pay tribute to the courage of Brittany Higgins, who's with us today. You have torn through a silence that has acted as the life support system for the most odious of status quos. To describe your experiences is to relive them. I say to everyone who took part: that took a level of courage that you should never have needed to show, but you did, and we thank you for it. We also acknowledge everyone who has experienced misconduct but could not take part. Indeed, there are many who are not ready to speak and perhaps never will be. I hope that you can take some heart from knowing that this very institution that failed you is at last acknowledging your hurt. Most importantly, we are sorry. On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I am sorry.

We are committing to change. The Jenkins report, with its piercing honesty about the treatment of women and men both, has exposed a damaged culture, and no word any of us says in here is worth a thing if it does not lead to action. We can make a difference, but it will take real and sustained effort to create the lasting cultural change that we need. I believe we can do it. I know that we have to. How we can start doing that is by working across the parliament to implement every single recommendation of the Jenkins report. That is the absolute minimum we should be doing for the staff who are in so many ways the fuel in the engine of parliament.

Staff members are drawn to work in politics for many of the same reasons that parliamentarians are: belief in their party's principles, belief in those they work for and belief in the power of the political process to create change and to make lives better. That work should be valued and recognised, even if it is behind the scenes. Staff and their contributions are not in the spotlight, but lower visibility is not a licence to lesser treatment. No-one deserves to feel unsafe or disrespected in any workplace, let alone our national parliament. Let us be the example for Australia that the national parliament ought to be.

The Jenkins report was the culmination of a watershed year in Australian politics, society and gender relations. While the report concerns itself with this place, it is part of something bigger: an overdue national reckoning. Around this time last year, women across the country came together to call out the inequalities of gender and power that permeate their lives each day. Among its many manifestations was the Women's March4Justice right across Australia, including one in front of Parliament House, which I attended. There was something especially momentous about that march within sight of this very building, where revelations about a culture gone wrong proved to be such a catalyst for a national movement. However, we cannot ask the people we represent to make change without also making real and lasting change in this very building. We must, to put it simply, walk the talk.

We cannot attract the best people to this place if we don't strive to be the best ourselves, and without the best people we cannot achieve the best outcomes for the Australian people. Nor can we leave this work just to women. These aren't only women's issues. They belong to us all. Men have to step up and be allies in both word and deed. We have no excuse to wait for yet another wake-up call. This has been made clear to us by the extraordinary examples of not just Brittany Higgins but Grace Tame and others, who have found the strength to lift the weight of their own experience and hold it high until no-one could look away. In doing so, they have lightened the burden by that crucial fraction for so many others.

Let us work together, guided by respect, inclusion and collaboration. That's how we will build a better future for the women and men of Australia. We cannot undo what is already done, but if we have the will we can break out of this cycle for good, together. A lot of staff members have been failed over the years, but they still had the grace to show us the path forward. Thanks to them, to those members of parliament who worked on the cross-parliamentary committee and to Commissioner Jenkins we have no excuse not to take that path. That's surely something that this House of Representatives can unite on as we move forward.

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