Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) as circulated in my name together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 41, page 57 (after line 6), after subsection 24EA(1), insert:

(1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the statement must include recommendations for any sanctions (including parliamentary sanctions) to be imposed on the respondent.

(2) Schedule 1, item 41, page 58 (after line 6), after subsection 24EB(1), insert:

(1A) If the Privileges Committee's decision is not consistent with any recommendations made by the decision-maker or review panel (see subsection 24EA(1A)), the report mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) must:

(a) be made in writing; and

(b) set out the reasons for not following those recommendations; and

(c) be tabled in the House at the time the Committee reports it decision.

I support the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Amendment (Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission) Bill 2024. It is long overdue and sorely needed. The bill of course responds in part to the recommendations of the Set the standard report, which in turn was the product of the 2021 Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission and headed by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.

As many in the community would remember, the Jenkins review was established with the support of both major parties and the crossbench in March 2021 following a litany of reports about the toxic, unsafe workplace culture in Parliament House, including most notably the allegation by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins that she was raped in a ministerial office in 2019. As Commissioner Jenkins noted:

The Commonwealth Parliament sits at the heart of Australia's representative democracy. As one of the country's most prominent workplaces, it should serve as a model for others and be something Australians look to with pride.

In other words, it's imperative that the people who work in this building are safe and respected and feel they can speak up against bad behaviour. Regrettably, however, this has not been the case, which is why the review found that too often this workplace didn't provide a safe environment for many, largely driven by power imbalances, gender inequality and a lack of accountability. Indeed, the actions of some people in this building over many years has made a mockery of this institution and left the community with little trust in what goes on in here. This bill can help address the dreadful situation, because the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, the IPSC, promises to operate as a fair, independent, confidential and transparent system to handle complaints and make findings about misconduct and to make recommendations on sanctions for parliamentarians, staff and others who breach codes of conduct.

I obviously welcome this reform. But, frankly, there is one glaring omission, which is what I aim to address with my amendments. Yes, the bill as currently drafted empowers the IPSC to receive complaints, conduct investigations and make findings about whether a breach of the code of conduct has occurred. In less serious cases, the commission can determine and impose a non-parliamentary sanction, such as a written reprimand, a requirement to undertake training or a small fine. This all sounds good. The problem arises in more serious cases where a matter involves a serious offence and the power to impose sanctions is taken from the IPSC and given to the privileges committee. A 'serious offence' is defined as an offence involving assault or sexual assault or any other offence prescribed by the PWSS rules. In these cases, the IPSC would provide its findings to the privileges committee, but it would be up to the privileges committee to impose any sanction, which might include a fine, a suspension or even removal from the committee. This situation flies in the face of the Set the standard recommendation for a fair, independent, confidential and transparent complaints processing mechanism which holds parliamentarians to account for their poor behaviour.

I am on the Standing Committee of Privileges and Members' Interests and I have great respect for my colleagues there. I'm the first to acknowledge that it's a highly respected committee with a reputation for being multipartisan, collegiate and collaborative. However, it's not a given that this collegiality will always exist, nor that the public will always have confidence that it exists, and if trust breaks down, especially between the committee and the community, and the idea takes hold that poor behaviour is not being dealt with by an independent expert body then at best we've failed the so-called pub test and at worst allowed this place to drift into lawless mediocrity.

That's why my amendments would enable the IPSC to include recommendations for any sanctions in its report to the privileges committee. Moreover, should the privileges committee deviate from the recommendations of the IPSC, it must table its reasons for doing so when reporting its decision. Only then could everyone, including the community, be confident that complaints investigation and processing within this workplace are fair, independent, confidential and transparent, as recommended by the Set the standard report.

Importantly, my amendments respond to concerns which have been raised by a number of organisations focused on women's safety, on transparency and on good governance, including Fair Agenda, Transparency International Australia and the Australian Democracy Network. On that note, I thank Fair Agenda in particular for their engagement on this issue and I commend the amendments to the House.

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