Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

In relation to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Amendment (Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission) Bill 2024, I want to reiterate that the coalition has said many times since the delivery of the Set the standard report into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces that everyone in this place deserves to have a safe and respectful workplace. All parties have a role in improving and maintaining the good culture of parliament. This bill represents the culmination of work in both the passage of other legislation and the consultation across this building to ensure the process for change in this place hears the perspective of all sides. The coalition would like to thank the many people across the parliament who have worked to develop the legislation to bring it into place. In particular, the coalition would like to thank the Independent Chair of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, Dr Thom, and her staff for their endless patience and commitment.

There have been challenges in our workplace, as most Australians would know, and the coalition has been working with all other parties and parliamentarians to address them. This includes through the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, its staff and consultative group and the work of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Since the beginning of this process, the coalition has worked for practical and implementable changes that, importantly, respect the institution of our parliament. It's why we accepted and implemented the recommendations of the Foster review, including an independent complaints mechanism, workplace training and improved independent support services. It's also why the former government accepted the Jenkins review and committed to working towards all of the 28 recommendations at that time. There have been concrete changes that we have no doubt will make our workplaces more safe and respectful. We now have in place an independent and confidential complaints mechanism for current and former parliamentarians and staff, which this bill will further formalise and enhance by placing it in the statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service.

We have a confidential 24-hour support service for current and former parliamentarians and staff. We have new training and education programs for all of our staff and parliamentarians to keep our workplaces as safe and respectful as they can be. It was the coalition that first established the parliamentary independent complaints mechanism under the first iteration of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service. That mechanism introduced a complaints process that for the first time was independent from the Department of Finance and its predecessors. This was an important step and was completed before the Set the standard report had been provided to the parliament. This new independent complaints mechanism had the power to hold parliamentarians as employers accountable for their actions and introduced the concept of referring parliamentarians to the relevant privileges committee if they failed to implement recommendations of relevant workplace reviews. It brought in new practices to improve the culture of our workplaces, which used the current institution's functions to apply accountability that, importantly, respects the role of the parliament in that process.

The purpose of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Amendment (Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission) Bill is to establish the final piece in a legislative framework outlined by the Set the standard report. The bill will create a commission within the statutory PWSS and allow for the commission to investigate breaches of conduct by parliamentarians, their staff and other occupants within the Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. The commission will comprise nine commissioners, with one being the chair. The commission will enforce behaviour codes within the Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces and investigate breaches of these codes when they occur. These investigations will be conducted to establish on the balance of probabilities whether the code was breached or whether some other matter relating to work health and safety in our workplaces needs to be addressed.

The process established by this legislation for investigating a matter will ensure confidentiality, an appropriate process to deliver natural justice and the necessary fairness to allow for reviews of outcomes. Most importantly, for the first time, this body will be able to place sanctions on those individuals who breach the codes. This is a new element that does not exist in the current regime of the independent complaints mechanism.

The sanctions placed on staff and other Commonwealth parliamentary workplace occupants can be recommended directly by the commissioner to the relevant employer. However, when it comes to sanctions on parliamentarians, this legislation recognises and respects the importance of the parliament and parliamentarians within our Constitution.

It's worth touching on the importance here of the work undertaken by parliamentarians, why we are afforded parliamentary privilege and are covered by protections under the Constitution. It's a fundamental right of this place to govern itself and its proceedings. The absence from interference from either the judiciary or the executive is a fundamental protection for the independence of all of us as legislators. But this does not mean that there can be no change or progress or that we should be unaccountable as employers. This legislation is the result of a careful process in which the last parliament and the current parliament have engaged on how to manage the change.

All parliamentarians have had to grapple with how best to approach a unique work environment where the employer is constitutionally protected. The opposition wants to acknowledge the government for prioritising this institution and its integrity over rushed expediency. It is right that only the parliament can ensure that its privileges are appropriate and fit for purpose.

It's also worth noting that the first person to commence a process whereby Australia saw updates to the privileges in this place was the father of the member for Wentworth, the former Liberal member for North Sydney, John Spender. But, until that point, the privileges of the chamber had not been altered since they were established at Federation. The late Mr Spender acknowledged the fact that there needed to be modernisation but, importantly, with respect to the past. Speaking on the Parliamentary Privileges Bill in 1987, he said,

I believe that it is necessary for us to come into the 1980s. As Australians we should state what our main privileges should be and say that there are some privileges which we inherited in 1901 which have nothing to do with the way in which this Parliament should run in the 1980s.

Today's bill will acknowledge the need to modernise our parliamentary workplaces but, importantly, will also respect the important role of the protections that exist for this place. To do so it's recognised that sanctions on parliamentarians on how they conduct themselves in their work can only be determined by the relevant chamber of parliament. It will be the respective privileges committee that will ensure that parliamentarians adhere to the standards expected and sanction members appropriately.

To oversee this new commission and the process of enforcing the behaviour codes, a new joint committee will be established. This committee will be charged with overseeing the operation of the commission, approving the appointment of commissioners and undertaking necessary reviews including of the behaviour codes.

While the measures in these bills have the in-principle support of the opposition, at this time the opposition will be reserving its position, noting that the Minister for Finance has committed to our shadow minister to consider some minor technical changes to this legislation to improve the operation and to provide clarity.

The coalition, in government and now in opposition, have consistently taken the approach that these matters should remain non-partisan, and we've sought to deal with these by consensus. We acknowledge that the Labor Party, in government, has worked to do the same, particularly when reasonable and sensible compromises can and have been achieved. This is important and appreciated by the opposition, as we have consulted widely since this legislation was made public one month ago, at its time of introduction. Staff and parliamentarians have provided views to the opposition that there remain, as I said, some minor and technical issues as well as other concerns that the government will be aware of regarding the oversight committee and ensuring, importantly, that the codes of conduct are fit for purpose. The opposition takes these views seriously, particularly the views of staff who have raised concerns that the codes of conduct were not provided to the relevant employment groups before they were finalised.

We appreciate the minister has recognised the need for bipartisanship in these matters and is therefore taking time to work through the concerns of the staff and concerns of a number of opposition parliamentarians. We note the need for this legislation to pass soon to ensure it can achieve a start date of 1 October 2024, and we note the government has indicated that it will preference consensus over the timeline. Noting this goodwill, the opposition will assist with passage while the discussions between the minister and the shadow minister continue. I understand that there's been significant, good work, even in the last few days, of which the opposition is appreciative.

We support the improvements that this bill will implement in our workplaces and look forward to the continued discussions with the government as this bill moves to the other place.

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