Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to raise an issue which should concern all members of this House—the issue of harassment of staff. We may not see it as something we as individual members practise; however, I am sure that most members could recount at least one incident involving a member and staff of the parliament or the personal staff of a member or minister which should cause us to reflect on our conduct.

We may find some of the stories about members throwing fruit or ashtrays amusing in hindsight but they should be considered as causing alarm and offence, if not injury. And verbal harassment can be just as wounding. On the government’s website www.business.gov.au, harassment is defined as ‘unwelcome conduct that humiliates, offends or intimidates people’. The site also points out that:

Under federal anti-discrimination law an employer, regardless of size, may be legally responsible for discrimination and harassment which occurs in the workplace. Employers must actively implement precautionary measures to minimise the risk of discrimination and harassment occurring.

The website goes on to say:

Bullying is another form of workplace harassment that many employers face. Examples of bullying behaviour include unfair and excessive criticism, publicly insulting victims, ignoring their point of view, constantly changing or setting unrealistic work targets and undervaluing their efforts at work.

The website stresses that:

As an employer, you should be aware of the legal risks associated with harassment and bullying and the steps that can be taken to minimise their potential liability.

That is a message that all members of this House should be well aware of. We all realise that politics is war without bloodshed and, in the atmosphere of this parliament, no prisoners are taken. But those rules should not apply to the noncombatants—the staff of the parliament and our personal staff.

To a great extent, the standing orders of the parliament protect individual members from unreasonable attack and, Mr Deputy Speaker, that is a challenge all those who occupy the Speaker’s chair uphold with great zeal. The parliament itself has adopted practices to deal with harassment involving staff. Training has been carried out, harassment officers have been appointed and review mechanisms have been put in place, but there remains a grey area which occurs when staff who are employed by the parliament or as ministerial or personal staff of members engage with or otherwise deal with members or senators.

In the eight years that I have been a member of this parliament I cannot recall being asked to participate in activities designed to increase awareness of harassment or to stress my responsibilities with regard to harassment in my immediate workplace; yet clearly I and, for that matter, all members have a responsibility to avoid and prevent harassment in our workplaces. I can also add my own experience as a parliamentary staffer for nine years before I entered this parliament, so I have seen life on both sides of the big desk. I hasten to point out that I had no complaints against my former employers, the former members for Lindsay and Fowler, although I was reminded more than once whose name was on the office door!

Having experienced life from both sides I can appreciate the sometimes stressful situations that arise, and I am probably more sensitive to the differences in status between members and staff than some other members of this House. Some of us are happy to be called ‘mate’, but others insist on formalities. While some members expect, or even demand, special recognition, others are happy to be part of the crowd. One of the great things about this parliament is mixing at the staff cafeteria or at Aussies. I have no doubt that there are few parliaments in the world where members and staff mix so freely. That freedom may, to some extent, lead us to assume that we are all mates so that in a more formal setting there is room for a misunderstanding of roles. At the end of the day, however, the formal roles and relationships are set out in the standing orders and the practice of this House. While we should all appreciate the effect of harassment and bullying on the individual, intimidation or abuse of power can also lead to a breakdown in established procedures. The institution as a whole may suffer as a consequence of harassment and bullying.

Members may recall that in December last year I, along with the members for Throsby, Adelaide and Franklin, raised a number of questions concerning the proceedings of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services. As deputy chair of the committee I also wrote to the Speaker, airing a number of complaints concerning issues relating to the conduct of the committee proceedings. The issues raised included the denial of access to opposition members of minutes of meetings, draft copies of report chapters and detail from consultants’ reports paid for by the committee.

I was pleased to note that the Speaker acted promptly to refer the matters to the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ian Causley, in his capacity as Chair of the Liaison Committee of Chairs and Deputy Chairs, to consider the issues of procedure and practice raised and to provide him with advice as to whether action is required to clarify any aspects of committee practice and procedure. On 8 February this year, the Speaker tabled and distributed copies of a discussion paper based on the inquiry. I express my thanks to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker for their swift action on this matter.

I have since forwarded my written comments on the discussion paper, as invited by the Deputy Speaker. I will not canvass my response at this time except to say that I am satisfied that it addresses the procedural aspects of the matters raised. However, I believe that it would be outside the scope of the discussion paper to consider the issues of harassment and, in particular, the abuse of power. For that reason, I am raising these issues in a general sense in this speech today.

As you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker Causley, the standing orders of this parliament apply to standing, select and joint committees. Indeed, standing orders 214 to 248 refer specifically to committees and committee procedures. As a holder of the chair, you would also be aware of the role of the clerks and other officers in assisting the operation of the parliament. As members we often observe the holder of the chair seeking advice from the clerk at the table. Any Speaker or Deputy Speaker would ignore that advice at his or her own peril, and the same should apply in a committee.

The general principles for the administration of parliamentary committees include, in the role of the secretary, that they should: ‘Under the guidance of the committee or the chair provide impartial, non-partisan advice and support services to the committee,’ and ‘provide equal access to evidence, correspondence and information provided to the committee to all committee members’. In the matters raised with the Speaker, both of these principles were clearly breached, and it was left to opposition members to refer the matters to the Speaker. I note that the outcome of the inquiry and discussion paper may help to resolve these issues in the future. I am left to wonder what recourse committee staff have when placed in this position or how they may respond when unreasonable requests are made by committee members.

As I have mentioned, the parliament has harassment policy measures in place which address instances of harassment by other staff. But I believe that there is also a need for members of this parliament to be informed of their obligations regarding harassment, particularly their own actions. Officers of the parliament and ministers’ and members’ personal staff are in a difficult position when faced with harassment. They may believe that making any complaint could damage their career. That creates a climate of fear in which harassment thrives. As many harassment programs stress, it is essential for those in positions of power to respect the role and integrity of those staff providing the services we all depend on. I shall be writing to the Speaker, expressing my views on harassment and outlining the case for the parliament to consider ways of ensuring that members are aware of their responsibilities to eliminate harassment and bullying from our parliamentary workplace.