Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

I have spoken in this place many times about the need for us to hold ourselves accountable and to, indeed, set the standard. I want to, once again, take the opportunity to acknowledge the critical work of the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins and her team at the Australian Human Rights Commission in helping to set us on this course. I also want to acknowledge all the staff—current and former—in this place who contributed their experiences to that report. I know that was not easy for many of those staff, but we are a better parliament because of your efforts; thank you. I want to acknowledge the people in this place who have helped steer us to this point because—again, let's be honest—this isn't a workplace that embraces change easily. It is not a workplace that has done this really difficult work in the past. It has taken us far too long to get to this point. I want to acknowledge the people who, in just two years of our government being in power, have now got us to the point where we are introducing something that probably should have happened a very long time ago. In particular, I pay tribute to my friend and colleague the member for Newcastle for her leadership and, of course, to the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher.

Labor—both in opposition are now in government—have been steadfast in our commitment to making this a safer workplace for all people. This is something that we need to see action on. For too long, this parliament hasn't met the standards the Australian people expect of us. In fact, we're the place that sets the standards and the rules for other workplaces, yet we haven't managed to meet the standards that we have expected of those in the Australian community. That is shameful for all of us, and it is something that, collectively, we must continue to set right.

In particular, it is very concerning that this parliament has, in too many cases, not been a safe workplace for women. It is positive that that is changing, but we would be kidding ourselves if we thought it was job done. This is a really important part of the puzzle, but it is still on all of us in this place, particularly those of us elected to this place and those of us who employ staff in this place, to make sure that we are doing everything we can, everything that we have a responsibility for, to make this a safer workplace for all, particularly for women.

The Set the standard report found that, for so many staffers and others who work in parliament or other parliamentary workplaces, their experiences were of a workplace that was often toxic and harmful. It's been absolutely clear for some time that parliament needs to improve and that we need that long-term cultural piece of change in how our parliament workplace operates. The recommendations that were put forward in the Set the standard report have helped us to ensure that we are on the pathway to making sure that this workplace, our electorate offices and related workplaces are safe and respectful. They put us in the area where we are now following best practice in preventing and responding to bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault. The delivery of all of that work, as I said, is on all of us. Government members, opposition members, crossbench members—we all have a responsibility to deliver on making this a safe workplace and to ensure this building and Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces here and around the country are safe and respectful.

In particular, I think it's important that the architecture of the IPSC, which will be set up through this bill, ensures that there are consequences for actions and that we know that, if we are not behaving in a way in which staff feel safe and respected and we're not doing the work to make this a workplace where that is the norm, we will be held accountable for our actions. For too long, there has been impunity in this place. There has been a sense that being an elected member of parliament somehow, in some way, puts you above consequences or rules that apply to people who work in other workplaces. That is no longer the case. With the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, we will have, in this place, a mechanism to see the outcomes that will hold people accountable for their actions.

Since the Set the standard report was first handed down, our government has been committed to implementing all 28 of its recommendations. We are very clear that parliamentary workplaces should be safe and respectful for everyone, and it's work that we have done and tried to do by bringing the whole parliament together. Last year, the government, working with the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce and its staff consultation group, established the statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service. The PWSS has since enhanced its operations, providing centralised human resources support to parliamentarians and their staff. I think, again, if you talked to people in many other professional workplaces around Australia, you would find that they would be astounded to hear that it took us until 2023 to really have in place a centralised professional HR service for this building, but that is, in fact, the case. I know, certainly from my experience, the experience of my staff and the experience of others I've spoken to, that having the PWSS in place has made a difference to our experience in this building. The PWSS provides services to a broader cohort of people who work in the parliament, to support a safe and respectful workplace. That is a really important part of that architecture that we needed to set up to make this a safer workplace.

What we're doing now with this bill is the next part, which is the establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. The IPSC will be able to investigate complaints about breaches of behaviour codes that will apply in the parliamentary workplace. In fact, having the IPSC in place means that those behaviour codes that we have all signed up to can finally commence. Importantly, the IPSC will have fair and confidential processes. Again, that is important. I acknowledge all of the staff who, as part of this process, have brought forward their stories and experiences. It is vital that, as part of these mechanisms we are putting in place now, staff feel like they have avenues that they feel are safe and respectful to take complaints and issues to, and that is how the IPSC is being set up. It will be independent, and it will be impartial. The government has worked very closely with parliamentarians through the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, with staff in the building and with other people right across the parliament to get these important reforms right. We do have to make sure that, when serious workplace issues arise in this place, people have recourse through an independent investigation and that there is real accountability for people doing the wrong thing. That accountability has been lacking in the past, and I think it has been a factor in making people feel both unsafe and also like they do not have genuine avenues to take complaints or concerns through.

In doing all of this work we've sought as much as possible to align with the approach and the recommendations of the Set the standard report, while also balancing that against the need for this legislation to carefully interact with the role of the parliament. In striking this balance we've worked out that the IPSC would be established as part of the PWSS and that there will be functional separation between the IPSC's investigation function and the PWSS's functions. They'll work together in complementary ways. The PWSS will continue to be a front door for complainants, although a complaint could be made directly to the IPSC. The IPSC will not commence investigations that would be better addressed through the PWSS's complaint resolution function. Again, we have tried to be very thoughtful about how both of these bodies are providing people in this workplace with avenues to have issues addressed. Then at the end point, where necessary, there are also consequences for findings against people, and, as I said, those consequences will be an important part of the architecture that we're setting up.

As an independent and impartial body, the IPSC will be well placed to undertake investigations and to determine whether misconduct has occurred. The IPSC would be able to directly impose on MPs sanctions including training, behaviour agreements and reprimands and would refer serious findings to the relevant privileges committee to recommend appropriate sanctions to the parliament. The relevant privileges committee would then be responsible for considering the appropriate sanction and would be required to report to the parliament with their recommendation. Importantly, this would require a public report, ensuring that the committee is accountable for their recommendation to the parliament. Accountability, again, is part of what has been missing.

I've spoken with many people over the years that this process has been active in this parliament. I know, from many conversations with broader members of the public but particularly young women about how they view this place as a workplace, that they have really seen it as a consequence-free environment. Obviously, the concern for all of us in here is not just that which we should all hold that the Australian public aren't very impressed sometimes with how we conduct ourselves and how we treat this place as a workplace but also that the message we are sending to young women and that they're receiving is one of this not being a safe place for them either to want to work in or to enter into as an MP. That is something that is on all of us to actively work to change.

Passage of this legislation will help finalise the implementation of the recommendations from the Set the standard report, helping to ensure that this workplace leads by example and is safer for all—for parliamentarians, for staff and for all of those in the building. I absolutely acknowledge that Parliament House is a unique workplace. In that uniqueness we want to attract the best and the brightest here. We don't want to be exclusive about it. We don't want to be saying, 'You can only come if you can hack it; you can only come if you can work our unique workplace to your advantage.' We want to say, 'This is a safe and respectful workplace for all people,' and this legislation is an important part of sending that message both to the Australian people and also to all of those who work in this building. We have a shared responsibility to make sure that people who work in this building and in other political offices are able to do their jobs in a safe way and be confident that the systems and supports that should be in place to support them are there when and if they need them.

We have taken the time to get this legislation right and, as I said, to consult across the parliament. I do thank all the people not just in the government but in the other parties and the opposition who have been involved in that consultation. I am sure that, as a result of this legislation, we will get a better parliament. We will get a parliament that is more respectful. We will get a parliament that is safer for staff and people who work in this environment. We will place this parliament in line with the standards that we request of other workplaces right around the country.

Change like this doesn't happen overnight. I'm not kidding myself that we have done all the work we need to do. I say again that the responsibility is on all of us, particularly those of us who are elected members of this place, to make sure that we live up to setting the standard, to make sure that we don't think this is a set-and-forget and the work is done. We should continue to work together to set the standard to make sure that people are safe and respected in this workplace.

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