Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. This morning the Prime Minister issued a media release stating that he had received the report he commissioned from his departmental deputy secretary about the response to sexual assault and other serious incidents in this building more than three months ago. When will the Prime Minister release that report? Why is he keeping it a secret?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. The deputy secretary of my department, Stephanie Foster, has done an outstanding job over those months in compiling her report and providing advice to government—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and how we should be able to proceed not just as a government but in partnership with the parliament as a whole. As I said yesterday, that report has been received. That report will be taken to cabinet and then it will be taken to the government members party room to be discussed. The report will be provided to all members of this parliament at the earliest opportunity, and I suspect that will happen next week. That is when I expect the full report will be made available to the Leader of the Opposition, to the members of the crossbench, to the members of the crossbench in the Senate, to the leader of the Greens and to all of the members of this place. We will make that report available, and I'll tell you why. It contains very useful recommendations about how our parliament can work together to support our staff and ensure that the right mechanisms are in place, and, in particular, her recommendation to establish an independent complaints mechanism, which is urgently needed in this place. I have no intention of waiting until the outcome of the report of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner's inquiry before we introduce that. I think we can get on with it now. The deputy secretary, I think, has given us a very good model. We will work through the normal government processes to bring that proposal to this parliament and to the Leader of the Opposition. I look forward to them engaging in good faith with that process, rather than seeking to score political points.