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

The Set the standard report found that one in three parliamentary staffers in this building had experienced some form of sexual harassment as had many female parliamentarians. This is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace, whether that's in Parliament House or anywhere else. The Greens welcome and support these bills, which give the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, the PWSS, statutory authority and an expanded mandate.

The accompanying changes to the MOPS Act will make improvements to the rights of our workers by requiring employment conditions to be publicly available and clarifying the triggers for automatic termination of employment. These are positive and overdue reforms to create a safer and more respectful workplace. Establishing an independent PWSS is a key recommendation of the Set the standard report, and it's already been delayed for too long. This bill has gone through all the due processes. It has taken account of feedback from staff and the unions. Now it is time to pass it so that staff and the community can see real action on the recommendations.

The PWSS has been a huge step forward to improving parliament, but without enforcement powers it can't solve the problem. That's what the future Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission will do, and we urge the other parties to push along to get that done. The PWSS education, reporting and monitoring roles will keep parties on track for their commitments to improving diversity within parliament. We've made some progress, but we still have a long way to go. Cultural diversity is still lacking in our workplace.

The Greens will continue to push for the reforms to parliamentary culture and other procedural protections to be rolled out nationally as a matter of urgency. And I want to recognise the strength and resilience that Brittany Higgins as well as many others have shown in driving this change. To end Australia's culture of sexual violence, harassment and abuse we must start by supporting victims to come forward, and dismantling power imbalances and gender stereotypes that deter them from doing so. Staff and the community deserve to see action on all the Jenkins Set the standard recommendations and they deserve that action now.

The Greens will continue to monitor the PWSS to ensure it has the resources and the powers it needs to create a safe and respectful workplace. But, of course, the ultimate test is whether staff feel safe at work, whether parliamentarians feel safe at work and whether people watching this place think that parliament is somewhere that they would want to work.

I support these bills and briefly, in conclusion, I'd like to place on the record my thanks to the PWSS for all the work they've done so far. I can't speak for others, but I know my team have found them invaluable and of huge assistance. If any member of this place hasn't yet engaged with the PWSS in its old role or its new role, I encourage you to do so. The support has been terrific and has been invaluable. I also place on the record my thanks to our Greens senators Larissa Waters and Mehreen Faruqi, who've been part of bringing these reforms into practice on behalf of the Greens. I commend the bills to the House.

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