David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Nationals, I thank the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for their statements. Seizing this opportunity to build a more respectful, more equal and more safe professional culture inside Parliament House, and across all parliamentary workplaces, is a priority that unites us all. Every Australian should belong in a workplace where they feel protected, where they feel supported, and where their contributions are valued.

With the tabling of the second annual report by the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, I want to reaffirm to all members of this chamber the Nationals' ongoing commitment to work with a constructive, meaningful and bipartisan spirit to help address the challenges that were laid out by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins's Set the standard report. In fact, the title of this report demonstrates its importance, because having this opportunity to serve and work in Parliament House, to actually make a positive contribution to the communities that we are elected to represent and to set the direction of our nation, is an immense honour. It's a workplace which is the heart of Australia's democracy where we should be setting the standard of how we interact and treat one another. This should be a building where promoting equality, welcoming diversity and encouraging mutual respect is absolutely paramount, which is why Kate Jenkins's review was so confronting.

Over a period of seven months in 2021, the commissioner and her team interviewed 490 people, received 302 written submissions and heard from more than 1,700 women and men. The report covered and identified reports of sexual assault and harassment, challenges around gender inequality and diversity, and issues around mental health. It highlighted that, as political leaders, we needed to do better, to lead the way and to help secure real and positive change in this workplace.

In total, 28 recommendations from the Set the standard report were put forward, and these have led to the creation of a 24-hour support service for staff, training and education programs, and leadership initiatives. Recommendation 2 was establishing the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, led by an independent chair and consisting of broad parliamentary membership. This taskforce has made a real difference in addressing the review's recommendations and, as it hands down its second annual report, I want to acknowledge the taskforce for its successful advocacy and ongoing efforts to make this parliament a better place to work. The Nationals take these matters extremely seriously, and our party is grateful to have a strong voice in the taskforce, through my deputy leader, Senator Perin Davey, who has made a tremendous contribution.

Efforts to empower and support gender equality and to strengthen diversity were the heart of the Jenkins review, and it's on that note that I'm pleased to share with the House some of the achievements that the National Party has achieved when it comes to these priorities. We are firmly committed to fostering a bright political atmosphere that encourages more women to participate in our movement across every level, and I'm thrilled to say that we are making progress. Right now in our federal parliamentary team I'm proud to recognise that four of our seven Nationals shadow cabinet ministers are women. Importantly, Senator Perin Davey and Senator Bridget McKenzie continue to drive our party forward as members of the federal leadership team. In the other chamber, four of our six senators are women. Today the federal management committee of the Nationals has seven women in the 16 voting positions, which include the positions of federal president, treasurer and secretary. Also, since last year's task force report was handed down, I can advise that nearly 60 per cent of our party's international professional development opportunities have been completed by women. All of these are strong benchmarks that will set our party up for the future.

As the dedicated voice of the nine million Australians who live in regional, rural and remote Australia, the Nationals are determined to do everything we can to ensure that our parliamentary and grassroots memberships effectually encapsulate the social and geographical diversity of our nation. With backgrounds spanning from agriculture to manufacturing, from journalism to small business, from education to accountancy and from law enforcement to health, I'm proud of the different perspectives and experiences that our federal parliamentary team bring to the parliament, but of course there's still more to do. Our federal management committee is continuing to work in partnership with the state divisions to develop a more systemic and comprehensive approach to candidate identification and development. One of the key goals and KPIs underpinning this is to ensure that our party reflects the incredible diversity of the communities that the Nationals represent.

I want to conclude my remarks by once again thanking the parliamentary leadership task force for their second annual report on the progress of the Set the standard recommendations. I acknowledge all of the members of the task force for their commitment, professionalism and hard work. It's important work that is already making a huge difference in promoting and securing genuine change—change that will make our parliamentary workplace more safe, more tolerant and more respectful.

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