Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Jenkins Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Isn't it the case, Prime Minister, that both sides, and indeed all, of the parliament participated constructively in that review? Isn't it also the case that the best way to ensure these issues are not politicised is by being transparent and tabling the report when it is received by the government next week?

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

I will ask the Special Minister of State to add to the answer. As I have just said to the opposition, we have worked together on these issues and we will continue to work together in good faith on these issues. The government will receive the report, consider it and then release it; that is the way these matters are held, and we will do that process in good faith. If the opposition are trying to accuse the government of bad faith on this, they can do that. But I don't think that would be constructive. What I have said is we will continue to engage in this matter in good faith. We will receive the report, we will consider it and we will release it. Once we receive that report we will be in a position to advise the House further. The Special Minister of State may wish to add to the answer.

Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Congratulations on your election, Mr Speaker. Can I just say to the House that we all have a responsibility as members of parliament to our workplace and our staff. This has been a very important piece of work done by Kate Jenkins. It deserves to be above politics. It is the government's intention to work with the opposition and the Leader of the Opposition in relation to the implementation of this report. I don't believe this is a matter we should be debating in question time today, but the Leader of the Opposition is quite right if he'd like to ask questions here. There has never been an indication from the government that we will do anything other than seek to work with all members of parliament, including the crossbench and other minor parties, and with the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party in relation to this very, very important piece of work.

I would like to thank all those members of parliament that have participated in the Jenkins review and to thank all those staff members that we owe it to to provide the best possible workplace here in this parliament. We owe it to those staff and we owe it to each other to make sure we provide that best possible workplace.

On how this government deals with this review once it's received: at this point, given it's a Human Rights Commission review, I can't tell you what time of day it will be received by the government. But it is the government's intention to ensure that we put the politics of this behind us, that we focus on working cooperatively with all members of parliament, including the Leader of the Opposition, to make sure we do our duty to provide the best possible workplace for our staff. We will engage further with the Leader of the Opposition, with leaders of other parties and with the crossbench in relation to this review once it has been received by the government. But the suggestion that the government would sit on this review, the suggestion that we would withhold this review, I would like to make very clear to all members, is not one that this government is entertaining at all.