Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Speaker, for your statement. I want to record the Greens' support for it and our commitment to working for the full implementation of the Set the standard recommendations. Around half of the staff in parliamentary workplaces have experienced harassment, bullying or assault during their time here—half. We should all be appalled by that. For First Nations people, people of colour, people with disabilities, the harassment and disrespect can be even worse. The commissioner heard that even raising issues of racism or the intersectionality of racism and sexism could provoke an aggressive response. As the thousands and thousands of women and allies who took to the streets to march for justice said: 'Enough. This has to stop.'

There are many things on which people in this place do not agree, but on this issue we must be unified. There cannot be more blame-shifting and glossing-over and waiting until later. The blame is ours. The shame is ours. I am so sorry. The toxic culture that has been allowed to fester in parliament, documented in appalling detail by Commissioner Jenkins in Set the standard, must end, and that will only happen if we work together to end it. As one of the participants interviewed by the Human Rights Commission said: 'This is parliament. You should set the standard for workplace culture, not the floor of what culture should be.' We are sorry and we have to do better, every single one of us, every single day.

It's been nearly 12 months since Brittany Higgins bravely shared her experience, peeling back the curtain on the callous disregard that so many women, so many people, have endured for so long. Hers was not the first story. Rachelle Miller, Chelsey Potter and countless others had spoken out before. Brittany Higgins's story was not even the most recent story. But hers was the final straw, and this parliament must commit to making it the last story that someone has to tell. Brittany Higgins, Rachelle Miller, Chelsey Potter, Josie Coles, Emma Husar, Julia Banks and so many others shared their stories with Kate Jenkins because they felt they had to—to reveal the toxic culture, the sexism, the bullying, the lack of support, the 'he said, she said' mentality, the cover-ups. They did this in the hope that something would change. They chose to speak up for themselves and for those who aren't able to. We know from the report that the vast majority of staff who have been harassed in this place have made no formal report, because they had no faith that anything would be done. We have heard and we have listened. We must keep listening.

We must make sure that current and former staff and affected survivors are involved in these reforms in a meaningful way and feel supported to tell us when we're not doing enough. We must work to support those who have suffered, who are still suffering, from their experience. We must maintain a robust, independent, confidential complaints process that people can trust. We must work to put in place a code of conduct that not only sets the standard but makes sure that there are consequences when those standards are not met.

We also need to tackle the lack of full representation in our parliament. The culture in this place will change when decisions are being made by people with different views and experiences. We must work for a more diverse and inclusive parliament that better represents the community: more women, people of colour, people with disability, LGBTIQ+ people, and people with diverse backgrounds.

I want to thank Commissioner Jenkins again for the incredible work she and her team have done in setting out what we need to do. We owe it to everyone who took part and to everyone in this place, everyone in this country, to show some leadership and get it done. I also want to acknowledge that this is work that needs to be done in all workplaces around the country. We must also all keep working for a positive duty on employers to ensure that every worker in every workplace is safe and respected.

Ultimately, men have failed—failed to act with respect, failed to act with basic human decency, failed to listen, and failed to make the changes necessary when asked. It is men who need to change their behaviours, and we are committed to that.

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