Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023 and the Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill 2023. Everyone deserves to have a safe and respectful workplace. All parties have a role in improving the parliament's culture. There have been challenges in our workplace, and we are working with all other parties and parliamentarians to address those challenges. We take these changes that we're talking about today very seriously. 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 why the former government accepted the Jenkins review and committed to working towards all 28 recommendations.

There have been concrete changes that 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. We have a confidential 24-hour support service, for current and former parliamentarians and staff. We have new training and education programs for all our staff, and parliamentarians as well, to keep our workplaces safe and respectful. The work to implement these changes is being led by the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, the PLT, which represents parties and parliamentarians from across the parliament.

There is more work to be done, but the coalition is committed to working with all parties, Independents and staff to continue to make sure that we do have that safe and respectful workplace—a place where everyone feels safe and valued. It was the former coalition that established the current Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, following the Foster review. That service was created to be bespoke to our workplace. It's confidential, independent, trusted, and placed inside this building. It's a testament to that body that the service, that has proven itself to the extent that this bill is before us, will carry on the name in the new body. This new statutory body is designed to continue that work, with the status of a body independent from government but accountable to parliament.

The legislation before the House responds to recommendation 11 of the Set the standard: report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces, known as the Jenkins review. That review recommended that the Australian government should establish an Office of Parliamentarian Staffing and Culture within 12 months, to provide human resources support to parliamentarians and Members of Parliament (Staff) Act employees, that is, first, centralised and accountable to the parliament, with enforcement of standards, and, second, designed to provide human resources support and administrative functions in the area of policy development, training, advice, support and education.

What is important about the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill, and significant for the overall implementation of the Jenkins review, is that the body it creates will enable the implementation of a further five recommendations. The legislation comprises eight parts. Part 2 of the bill establishes the PWSS and its functions, and its obligations in relation to reports and action against parliamentarians for certain noncompliance. These functions include: human resources support, complaint resolution, policy development, education and training, reviews, and reporting on diversity, culture and work health and safety.

The bills also allow for the creation of policies or training that are mandatory for parliamentarians and staff. These mandatory policies and training will be made mandatory by the CEO of the PWSS only after the CEO has been given agreement by the advisory board, and would be disallowable. This provides an appropriate balance between the independent powers of the PWSS and the necessary oversight of these powers.

Part 3 establishes the chief executive officer and the arrangements for the CEO's appointment, conditions and termination. It's important to note that the independence of the CEO is integral to the operations of the powers and functions of the PWSS. The bill is explicit and clear. No parliamentarian will be able to direct the CEO in his or her duties. It's also important to note that the CEO will be appointed only following an appropriate consultation. The minister has provided assurance that this process will be genuine consultation with relevant parliamentarians and parties prior to the appointment. The opposition is advised that recruitment is currently underway for this position.

Part 4 outlines arrangements for staff, including consultants. It's important that the PWSS will be staffed by specialists and experts who can assist our workplace in developing best practice. To this end, it's noted that the PWSS will be able to seek external advice and expertise when required.

Part 5 establishes the advisory board and its procedures, including membership and members' terms and conditions. The board will assist the CEO in relation to the performance and the functions of the PWSS. As I've stated, it also has the important function of considering whether to approve or reject proposed mandatory policies or procedures and proposed mandatory education or training programs and requirements for completion of these programs.

Part 6 establishes the PWSS consultative committee and its functions and membership. That committee will be comprised of an independent chair, parliamentarians and staff. This committee is a crucial body, as it would enable employers and employees within our workplace to speak directly to the PWSS. This is essential in building trust in the operation of the PWSS and ensuring it meets the needs of parliamentarians and their staff.

Part 7 outlines the information-sharing arrangements—for example, between the PWSS and other Commonwealth entities, and in relation to requesting information from parliamentarians and MOPS employees. This is an important measure that will assist in the operation of the PWSS—in particular, in seeking information for reviews and reports.

Finally, part 8 provides for the making of rules and for regular reviews of the new body. It is important to continually assess how this body is performing in its role to support our workplace.

The PWSS bill provides for some administrative and transitional measures. The first of these is to provide continuity of the current arrangements for the treatment of documents and records of the PWSS. These arrangements exist to support and engender trust and confidentiality in the PWSS and its processes, following consultation with staff across the parliament under the former coalition government. The arrangements will exempt the records of the PWSS from the FOI Act and prevent the release of any of these records through the Archives Act for a period of 99 years. The second measure is to remove the determination that established the current PWSS. The final measure will allow the work of the current PWSS that may have occurred, is currently underway or is being managed, to be taken up by the new body following the closure of the old body.

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 the shadow minister to consider some minor technical changes to this legislation to improve its operation and provide clarity for staff. The coalition in government and in opposition has consistently taken the approach that these matters should remain nonpartisan and dealt with by consensus, and the Labor Party has worked to do the same, particularly when reasonable and sensible compromise can be achieved. This is important and appreciated by the opposition, as we have consulted widely since the legislation was made public a month ago when it was introduced. The views of staff on these matters are paramount, and we appreciate that the minister recognised the hundreds of coalition staff who will be impacted by this new framework and the feedback from our staff that has been provided. We note the need for this legislation to pass soon to ensure it can achieve the scheduled start date of 1 October this year, and to that end we will assist with the passage of the bill while the discussions between the minister and the opposition continue.

Finally, on the Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill 2023, the opposition supports this bill entirely and appreciates the detailed and sincere consultation that the minister has engaged in with our shadow minister. Consistent with the past practice in these matters over successive parliaments and governments, Minister Farrell has provided an approach that has allowed consensus on legislation that provides for the support of the parliament and the operation of parliamentarians and their staff. The opposition very much thanks the minister and his office for their sincere and genuine engagement in the development of this legislation to allow it to pass without the need for amendment and with the consensus of the parliament.

This bill originates from recommendation 18 of the Set the standard report and the recommended comprehensive review of the operation and effectiveness of the MOPS Act to ensure consistency with modern employment frameworks that was recommended in that report. The MOPS Act establishes a framework for parliamentarians and office holders to employ people on behalf of the Commonwealth. This employment currently operates for three categories of staff—personal staff, electorate officers and consultants—and is done through determinations made through the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister's delegate, nominally the Special Minister of State. It is important to note that this legislation has been in effect for 39 years and had not changed in any significant way until the Jenkins review and changes made by the former coalition government. The review resulted in 15 recommendations which were agreed in principle by both the government and the opposition. The bill will implement 11 recommendations of this review of the MOPS Act. The remaining recommendations will be implemented by the proposed new statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, the PWSS, to be established under the PWSS bill.

The changes in this bill fall into six categories over four schedules. First, the bill clarifies the roles and responsibilities of parliamentarians, office holders and employees, including their obligations under workplace laws. In practice, the bill clarifies the roles of parliamentarians, office holders and the Prime Minister by articulating that parliamentarians are responsible for their workplaces and are beholden to various acts, such as the discrimination acts. This is an important measure as it improves the relationship between the employment framework and modern workplace law, noting, as the review of the MOPS Act stated, that the parliamentarian has day-to-day management and decision-making in relation to employees. Second, the bill will bring the act into line with current practice. It will streamline the MOPS Act, including by reflecting categories of employment as they are referred to in contracts and agreements and removing obsolete provisions in the act, such as the one relating to consultants engaged by parliamentarians. These changes define categories of employees that better reflect those categories rather than by who employs them.

Third, the bill will enhance transparency of employment arrangements with a new requirement that the determination of terms and conditions for employment under the act are made publicly available on the Federal Register of Legislation, unless they would impinge on the privacy of individuals or small groups of individuals. While many determinations are already published on the Department of Finance website, this requirement will ensure a single and clear source of information for interpreting the conditions created under the act.

Fourth, the bill includes requirements intended to guide decision-making by parliamentarians about employment matters and to support fair outcomes and processes when making significant employment decisions. Parliamentarians would be required to recruit employees based on their assessment of a candidate's capability to perform a specified role. This requirement reflects the value of establishing at the start of employment clear expectations that can be met, while preserving the parliamentarian's ability to specify the role and skill requirements as well as the variety of needs the parliamentary officers may have, depending on geography and duties.

Fifth, a new provision for temporary suspension of employment will offer an alternative to termination of employment. Suspension could occur with or without pay. Parliamentarians would also be required to consult with the new PWSS prior to making a decision to terminate the employment of a staff member or suspend a staff member without pay. The bill also allows for the PWSS to step in as employer in circumstances where there is no longer a sitting parliamentarian, such as in the case of the death of a parliamentarian.

Sixth, the bill will make changes to the act's automatic termination provisions and clarify the intended operation of these provisions. As reflected in the review of the MOP(S) Act, this was sought by staff and will increase job security for electorate staff or staff of parliamentarians who occupy particular offices, such as ministers and party leaders. The measures in the bill also provide for minor and technical amendments of other acts that refer to it to ensure consistency of language across all of those acts. Noting the significant time between the introduction of the act and the current changes, the bill also provides for a further review within five years of the amendments commencing, as was recommended by the MOP(S) Act review.

We support the improvements that these three bills provide to our Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces and the parliamentary employment framework, and we very much look forward to continued engagement with the government on these matters.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Reports of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in our parliament have justly shocked the nation and highlighted the need for urgent reform to ensure that all Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces are safe and respectful places to work. In the wake of these shocking revelations, a number of reviews were undertaken with regard to the behaviour and culture in our parliament, perhaps none as important as the Australian Human Rights Commission's Set the standard report. An extensive body of work, the report of the independent review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces was sobering reading for anyone who read it. I don't think any of us walked away, after the many months of testimony and reading those submissions, thinking that there wasn't an urgent need for reform in this workplace, and not just this workplace. When we talk about Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, we're talking about every place where Commonwealth members of staff and members of parliament are conducting business.

I want to pay tribute to Kate Jenkins's exceptional work in leading that report and the very delicate work of providing a safe place inside a notoriously unsafe space for a lot of workers and people in this building to tell their story—to know that they could do that, that they would be listened to and believed and that there would be a series of recommendations made to this parliament. I appreciate the comments from the member for Hume, who spoke just before me, about wanting to continue to engage on these matters, but I remind every single member of this House and the other place that there was a very clear commitment from all of us to implement each and every one of the recommendations from the Jenkins report.

This really is, as the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, said in that report, 'an opportunity for the leaders of our country to transform Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces to become what they already should be', and that is 'workplaces where expected standards of behaviour are modelled, championed and enforced, where respectful behaviour is rewarded and in which any Australian, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status or age, feels safe and welcome to contribute'. It's hard to think that anybody might want to argue against those standards. I welcome the multiparty support for these reforms and certainly for the bills before the House today.

I think it is critical that we never lose sight of the intent of those recommendations and that original commitment that we made to the thousands of people that work in this place and in all of the other Commonwealth workplaces across the nation. This is a government that is absolutely serious about improving workplace behaviour and culture, and we are deeply committed to implementing all 28 recommendations of the Set the standard report. I've often said in this House that making the laws, passing legislation and drafting codes of conduct—that's the easy part. Every single one of us should be able to do this in a very timely manner right now. The really big work that is incumbent on all of us is driving cultural change. That's the long-term work that needs to be done and that's the hard work, where everybody has to step up and play their role. As challenging as some aspects of these pieces of legislation might be for some, I say again: this is the easy part.

There has been significant work across the parliament, across the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, to develop this bill, and lots and lots of discussions and negotiations to try and get this right. Progress is being made, but we have a lot more to do—and I don't think any of us can pretend otherwise—including working across the parliament to establish enforceable codes of conduct. We've all agreed to those codes in principle, but they sit there in a space where they cannot be properly exercised at this point in time. We need to establish enforceable codes of conduct, and that will only happen when we do the work to embed the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, and that's the next step for this parliament.

Beyond these two bills that we're talking about today, I want to flag with everybody that there is another body of work to be done—to establish an independent parliamentary standards commission because, without that, as so many members of staff told me and other members of the Parliamentary Standards Committee that were drafting the codes of conduct at the time, those codes are worthless. They are nothing but words on paper if we do not have the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to hear matters and then follow through with proportionate sanctions.

I welcome the member for Hume going through some of that detail. I don't wish to repeat that, but both the Jenkins report and the committee I chaired on parliamentary standards agree there should be a range of enforceable sanctions depending on the nature of the offence or the nature of the breach of those codes. That is a big body of work that is yet to be undertaken by this parliament. Not one of us should be under any false illusions here; that is critical work yet to be done. As I said, as a member of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce and the chair of the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, I am very pleased to have been involved in this process to date. I think every person on that task force and likewise on that committee has a really deep personal commitment to ensuring that we do the hard work of driving the cultural change in this building. I believe that there is a very deep public expectation that this reform will take place.

Every other parliament has squibbed this in the past. There is no place for us to get weak at the knees now. For half a century we've been talking about codes of conduct for this place. We've squibbed it every other time. We cannot be the parliament that does not stand by our word to ensure that the implementation of all the recommendations is done and done in full. The 47th Parliament has this incredibly unique opportunity before us to make good on all of those past mistakes and to leave a legacy for future generations of people who come and work here. That's what I want my legacy to be, and I'm pretty sure most people in this parliament would want something to pass on to the next generation of parliamentarians as well.

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill, or the PWSS Bill, which is before us now, will implement recommendation 11 of that Set the standard report, which recommends the Australian government establish an office of parliamentarian staffing and culture. After a lot of consultation, we've decided that the naming of that place should remain Parliamentary Workplace Support Services. That's what people are now very used to, and there's been an establishment of a trusting relationship there, so I guess that's where there's been a slight deviation from Jenkins's recommendation. I can assure the House that Kate Jenkins was never wedded to the title of that body and is very, very happy for the Parliamentary Workplace Support Services to fill what she had envisaged as being the parliamentarian staffing and culture office. Its fundamental role is to provide those important human resources supports to parliamentarians but also to all our MOP staff. I think it is critical that that is trusted, confidential, independent advice and support, and we know that there's a good track record for PWSS now.

The bill is also going to enable the PWSS, once established, to implement a further six recommendations of the Set the standard report, and those are recommendations 7, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 19, together with parliamentary departments to additionally implement recommendation 14. Time won't allow me to go into those details, but they are all well recorded. The MOPS Amendment Bill responds to the MOPS Act review—a really important body of work. That review was undertaken in response to recommendation 18 of the Set the standard report. This package is the first tranche of structural reforms recommended by Jenkins. This is the first of a series of bills that we need to deal with in order to deliver all of those reforms. The second tranche, as I said, will legislate the independent parliamentary standards commission. That's going to be responsible for the enforcement of the codes of conduct, the investigations of alleged breaches and sanctions, including sanctions against parliamentarians. So we're holding ourselves up to a standard here, and that's important. It's important that we model some behaviour for our staff and visitors and everybody else in this building too.

In February this year, the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said that great progress was being made towards reforming this workplace culture, one that would be safe and respectful, and, whilst this legislation is an important part of that work, we cannot stop here. There's a lot more to be done. I hope that the bipartisan, or I should say multipartisan, spirit that's driven the work so far continues. We are all in this together. It's not just the job of government, although you can be absolutely assured this government is going to drive and lead this process. But we all have a role to play, and the legislative package will make important reforms to support the professionalisation of the employment framework for staff, support for parliamentarians with their employer duties and support parliament to be a workplace which is safe and respectful. That's a big change. There is going to be a very clear onus on parliamentarians in our role as employers, and that should be made very, very clear to everyone in this building now. We have a clear role as an employer and certain obligations as a result of that.

Many people have been involved in this journey. I really want to do a shout-out to our staff and those people who came forward to tell their stories. That was a really tough time for our staff. Their experiences to date had not given them a sense that they would necessarily be afforded safety and privacy and would not suffer sanctions and consequences themselves if they were to tell their stories, so I don't underestimate for one moment the courage of all those people who did come forward.

This MOP(S) Amendment Bill has been a long time coming. The setting up of the PWSS as a new statutory authority is an important adjunct to the MOP(S) work that has been done. It will modernise the MOP(S) employment framework, and that is terribly important. The new act will provide clarity of roles and responsibilities and improve transparency. The amendments made by these bills today are the product, as I've said, of extensive consultation with parliamentarians and with staff across the parliament, including the leadership task force, the staff consultation groups and union representatives, bringing everyone to the table, as it should be. I deeply thank everyone who has been engaged in the development of this legislative reform, through collaborative effort, to implement the Set the standard recommendations. That's how we're going to drive that long-term cultural change and find safe and respectful workplaces for everyone in this place.

Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In November 2021 the Australian Human Rights Commission released the Set the standard report, a powerful body of work led by the then Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins. Based on contributions from 1,700 people, the report condemned the workplace culture here in Parliament House. It found that 51 per cent of all people currently working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces had experienced at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault. It revealed that one in three workers had experienced sexual harassment, with young women and people who identified as LGBTQIA+ the most vulnerable. It was laid bare for all to see—the nation's parliament was an unsafe place to work.

Kate Jenkins noted that, while men and women spoke of their experiences, the harassment and bullying was disproportionately aimed at female staff and MPs, and it was largely driven by power imbalances, gender inequality and exclusion and a lack of accountability. The contributions from those interviewed in the report are harrowing. One person said:

I am now in the privileged position to have a good job, a home and family of my own, but the scars from this period of my life run deep. I left the office after basically having a nervous breakdown.

Another said:

I will never work in a political office again, it's not worth it.

Another:

I did not want to stay in an environment where I was going to be subject to that level of abuse.

And another:

From the get-go there's no incentive to actually report because it's not going to change it and it's probably actually going to make it worse.

The report recommended, among other things, an expansion of the powers and jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service. This is long overdue. The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill implements recommendation 11 of the Set the standard report, which recommended that the Australian government establish an Office of Parliamentarian Staffing and Culture to provide human resources support to parliamentarians and employees. The objects of this bill are to support safe and respectful workplaces for parliamentarians and staff, support positive cultural change in those workplaces and provide centralised human resources support to parliamentarians and employees. The proposed new PWSS would continue the support, complaint resolution and review functions of the existing PWSS, but it would be independent of the Department of Finance. The new service would be headed by an independent office holder.

The bill makes clear that the CEO cannot be directed by any person in relation to the performance of their functions or exercise of their powers. Importantly, the CEO will be able to obtain expert advice from an advisory board and will also be able to obtain views from parliamentarians and staff whom it services through a consultative committee. The proposed new PWSS will report annually on key indicators of cultural change and progress in preventing misconduct like bullying and sexual harassment. But the new PWSS is just the first step—an important first step, that must unlock much needed further reforms. Once established it would give effect to a further six Set the standard recommendations, including the establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. The commission is the other main structural reform recommended in the Set the standard report. It would have the power to enforce the code of conduct and to suspend parliamentarians. This is why the PWSS must be up and running as soon as possible: so the rest of the pieces can be put in place.

Legislative change is critical, and I commend the government for introducing this bill, the MOPS amendment bill and the consequential amendments and transitional provisions bill. But we also have to change the way we speak about working in this place. In the past, it's been too easy to say, 'Parliament is a unique workplace; there's no other workplace like it.' This narrative has to stop. By speaking about parliament this way, either intentionally or unintentionally, we excuse antisocial behaviour. Yes, it's the national parliament; it's the imposing house on the hill. But the people who work here have every right to feel safe and respected. The people who work here should have the systems they need to go about their work in a safe and respectful environment—no exceptions.

Society has a problem with the way it treats women. Excusing poor behaviour perpetuates myths and misconceptions about sexual assault. The facts are: sexual assault is an underreported and under-prosecuted crime. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that, in 2021, an average of 85 people were sexually assaulted each day in this country. According to experts, 87 per cent of those that experience sexual assault don't ever report this crime, meaning the true figure is much higher.

In recent weeks, we've all heard about the prevalence, for example, of sexual assault on university campuses. The 2021 National Student Safety Survey shows the magnitude of the problem. One in 20 students reported being sexually assaulted since starting university. This equates to 14,300 sexual assaults per year, or 275 each week, every week.

The sexism and power imbalance in this parliament is not peculiar to this place; it's a community-wide problem. To reiterate: this place should be setting the standard and modelling behaviour. Otherwise, if it's okay here, what do we expect to see elsewhere?

Before I conclude, I'd like to thank staff who came forward during this process. It's not easy to do that. I would specifically like to thank Brittany Higgins. Ms Higgins has left an important legacy. She was the catalyst for the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces led by Kate Jenkins, and she is the reason we are debating this bill today. The reforms that will follow must create a stronger and safer culture in Australia's parliament.

I'll finish by saying that, while these fine words on paper in this chamber are one thing, actions in this chamber and in this building are entirely another. Self-awareness among those who work here and reflections on their continuing behaviour inside this chamber and outside it must happen to make these reforms meaningful. I endorse the remarks of the member for Newcastle: squibbing it on this is not an option. This bill must pass. The further reforms must happen. This behaviour must change, for all of us.

Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and the consequential amendments. As an outspoken advocate for positive cultural change in this parliamentary workplace and a key participant in the creation of a parliamentarian code of conduct, I welcome this bill. While there is still a long way to go, this is a significant moment in parliamentary reckoning to lift the standards in this place. This bill would give effect to the recommendations the Australian Human Rights Commission Set the standard report, an instrumental review of the Commonwealth parliamentary workplace culture. It would do so by establishing the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service as an independent statutory agency which will work to support positive cultural change across Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces.

This comes at a time when behaviour in this place has been bruising and far from meeting the expectations of our communities. In recent weeks, I stood up in parliament to call out what I have seen as completely inappropriate, disorderly conduct and to remind everyone in this place that not only do ordinary Australians join us every day in the galleries but thousands more watch from home and many are dismayed by the actions and behaviour they witness in this place. Too many debates between members in this place have been driven by party politicking, and I believe Australians expect better of us. As leaders of our communities, we must be able to deal with difficult issues respectfully, sensitively and, ultimately, productively. To reduce these conversations to bombastic cross-chamber yelling reduces us all.

The establishment of a specialist parliamentary human resources agency charged with preventing workplace issues and resolving problems earlier is a positive step in dealing with misconduct in Parliament House and addressing the elements of toxic culture that obviously still have a hold in this place. This legislation comes nearly two years after the Set the standard report was released. The report provides a road map to drive the cultural and practical change necessary to make our parliamentary workplaces safe. The report found that over three-quarters of people currently working in these workplaces have experienced, witnessed or heard about bullying, sexual harassment or an actual or attempted sexual assault in Commonwealth workplaces. That doesn't include the intimidation that takes place both in this place and outside this chamber on a daily basis. It presents findings of unacceptable experiences driven by power imbalances, gender inequality and exclusion, and a lack of accountability. I know those elements are still prevalent in this place today.

We must consider the over 4,000 people working in Parliament House on any given sitting day and the thousands more working across the country in electorate offices and the impact our behaviour is having on them. All people in all Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces deserve protection, and we need to have systems and structures in place to keep them safe. The Set the standard report found that human resources systems to support parliamentarians and MOPS employees were fragmented, unclear and inadequate, with few standardised policies and processes, including to prevent and manage misconduct. It found that there was an absence of clear expectations or guidance for Commonwealth parliamentary workplace participants.

Recognising these as contributing risk factors for misconduct, the Set the standard report made a number of recommendations, with the aim that people working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces are clear about their roles and responsibilities and that consistent and standardised systems, processes and advice exist to support performance. The report made 28 recommendations related to leadership, diversity, equality, inclusion and systems to support performance, standards, reporting, accountability, safety and wellbeing. In summary, the report was incredibly thorough.

Recommendation 11 of the Set the standard report recommended that the Australian government establish an office of parliamentarian staffing and culture to provide human resources support to parliamentarians and MOPS employees that is centralised and accountable to parliament, with enforcement of standards, and designed to provide human resources support and administrative functions in the areas of policy development, training, advice and support, and education. Recommendations 12 to 16 go to the functions of the office of parliamentarian staffing and culture, once established.

This bill will give effect to these recommendations by establishing the PWSS and providing the statutory functions commensurate with those recommended in the Set the standard report. In more practical terms, the function of the PWSS include providing centralised human resources support to parliamentarians and MOP employees; support and complaint resolution services and education; and training to Commonwealth parliamentary workplace participants, as well as determining key workplace policies and procedures. It will also review complaints about certain misconduct and will make recommendations. It will promote transparency and accountability by regularly reporting on key indicators of cultural change across Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, and it will support and provide resources for professionalised management practice in offices. Trading and guidance for MPs for the implementation for the code of conduct and behavioural standards will be central.

It's important to dig deep into what these reforms actually mean. It is valuable to see the direct translation of the Set the standard report recommendations into this legislation. To have an independent human resources entity for staff and parliamentarians with these functions enshrined in legislation is a good step in the right direction. It plays a part in ensuring that, as the highest office holders in the land, we hold ourselves to the highest standards. But in discussing this legislation, it's important that we reflect on how we got here and how far we have to go. It was the courage of victims that resulted in the Jenkins review, whose recommendations led to the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce and the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards.

The Respect@Work report completed by the Australian Human Rights Commission in March 2020 was a milestone moment, not just for our country but for this place. It has very much paved the way for the 2021 Set the standard report on which this legislation is based. It particularly identified and called out the weaknesses in this place, a place which should be consistently modelling the highest standards of behaviour, and the role that the Set the standard report has subsequently played in moving this place's culture in a new direction should not be understated. But it is simply gently nudging rather than taking a sledge hammer to it.

I've said this before, and I will say this again: I want to sincerely thank the far too many courageous people, the victims-survivors and everyone who bravely shared their stories to inform this important work. I want to thank the commissioner at the time, Kate Jenkins, for her fearlessness. The Respect@Work and Set the standardreports were both developed following a long and thorough process, finally bringing to light what many women have known to be true for decades. We need to do better in workplaces right around the country, including this one. That ultimately led to the development and endorsement of the first-ever code of conduct for parliamentarians and their staff, and the findings and recommendations followed.

For me, watching the appalling treatment of our first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was heart-wrenching. To then see Brittany Higgins's brave expression of her experience as she stood in the face of a barrage, to hear Julia Banks's accounting of her time in parliament, to read reports of Bridget Archer's treatment within parliament and then to watch Annabel Crabb's series Ms Represented were all instrumental moments in me then agreeing to run as an independent candidate.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order. I call the member for Petrie.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under standing order 64, I would ask that members be referred to by their correct titles.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member. Is that noted?

Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Noted, thank you. Having witnessed all of these things and learning of findings of the reports, I was devastated and couldn't escape the feeling that I had to do something. It was at this time that the people from within my community approached me to run as an independent for the seat of North Sydney. And while it was not something I had ever foreseen myself doing, I said yes—not because I had ideas of grandeur or entitlement, but because I believed that if I could drive a higher profile discussion about the reform needed at this level simply by campaigning on this and other topics, then the personal cost of saying yes would be worth it. It's within this context then that I committed, if elected as the member for North Sydney, that I would do whatever I could to ensure the recommendations of the Set the standard report would be realised.

I'm proud to have been part of Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards that saw the parliament endorse the behaviour standards and codes of conduct as presented late last year. The committee developed behaviour standards which set clear expectations of upholding laws that support safe and respectful work places, including laws regarding bullying, harassment, sexual harassment or assault and discrimination or intimidation in any form. The announcement in parliament that the draft codes of conduct were to be endorsed and adopted is a win for all who want to see politics done differently.

This bill has taken yet another significant step forward in changing the climate in Canberra, and the people of North Sydney can be proud of the role they continue to play in moving this agenda forward. But I need to point out that merely obeying the law is not going to be enough. The realities remain that Australians have lost faith in democracy, and it is going to take more than this work to see it restored. The cultural shift that is required involves individual responsibility and self-checks. The committee also set clear guidelines which focus on respectful behaviour, encouraging diverse perspectives and recognising the power and influence we have, ensuring not to abuse it. For many Australians, it would seem completely illogical that up until this year there was no binding code of conduct for parliamentarians, their staff or people visiting a parliamentary workplace. But codes are often only as effective as the people who uphold them. The behaviour of late shows us we still have a long way to go to change the culture in this place. Indeed, I would argue that, after yesterday's behaviour, many in this place need to go back and read that code that they themselves already endorsed.

I call on my fellow parliamentarians to revisit the code, refresh your memory and reset the standards of behaviour that follow: (1) act respectfully, professionally and with integrity; (2) encourage and value diverse perspectives and recognise the importance of a free exchange of ideas; (3) recognise your power, influence or authority, and do not abuse it; (4) uphold the laws that support safe and respectful workplaces, including antidiscrimination, employment, work health and safety and criminal laws; and (5) understand that bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and assault or discrimination or intimidation in any form, including on the grounds of race, age, sex, sexuality, gender identity, disability or religion, will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored. This is our national parliament. We should set the standard for workplace culture, not the floor.

The government says it is still committed to implementing all 28 recommendations of the Set the standard report, and I will hold the government to account for this. While the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and its consequential amendments are welcome progress, I call on the government to reiterate its endorsement of the code of conduct for all parliamentarians and to ensure its implementation at pace. While the establishment of the PWSS as an independent statutory agency is a welcome step in improving parliamentary standards, I highlight the need now for an independent parliamentary standards commission that would enforce the code of conduct for parliamentarians and staff. The code of conduct is long overdue. Positive culture in this place cannot come soon enough. All of us in this place have a responsibility to display exemplary individual leadership and the role to play to set the standard for an inclusive, respectful and professional workplace, not just here in Parliament House but in any work environment right across Australia.

While I, like other members of the committee, strongly support the recommendation to establish a confidential, independent and serious investigative body with an effective sanctions regime to drive long-term cultural change, it must be known we will move ahead with new expectations of behaviour even without it. I was sent by the people of North Sydney to help change the culture in our federal politics for the better, knowing full well that changing any culture is always one of the hardest things to do in any environment. As stated at the opening of the Set the standard report, this is an opportunity for the leaders of our country to transform Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces to become what they should already be—workplaces where expected standards of behaviour are modelled, championed and enforced, where respectful behaviour is rewarded and where any Australian, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status or age, feels safe and welcome to contribute.

By acting on this report, this parliament has the unique chance to leave a historic legacy for future generations of people working in the parliament and, through them, for all Australians. If we are to lead our nation to a better place, we must be prepared to model the behaviour we expect to see of all of our citizens, on every street corner, on every road pathway. That is the call that I put to my fellow parliamentarians today. We must do better, and it starts with us.

Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As colleagues here would be aware, I was only elected to this place last year. I don't have the depth of experience and connection that long-time members have. But I do bring the perspective of my community. Many Australians had not given much thought to the workplace experiences of parliamentarian staff before 2021, but what they have learned since Brittany Higgins brought her allegations to public attention is horrifying. The Set the standard report that followed transformed our understanding of what goes on in this place and the experiences of staff and others in this building. The report reveals a workplace where bullying, harassment, abuse and assault occur, and occur all too often and often without consequence. That report found that almost two-thirds of female parliamentarians and half of the LGBTIQ people working in parliament have experienced sexual harassment, more than the national average for women, which is 39 per cent, and significantly more than the one-quarter of men who have experienced it in parliament. Most disturbing of all is that this appalling workplace is our workplace, our national parliament. The behaviour documented by Commissioner Kate Jenkins would be unacceptable in any workplace in the country.

One of the findings that really resonated with me was the finding about the leadership deficit in parliament. In a building full of national and local leaders, there was a comprehensive failure of leadership when it came to creating and maintaining a workplace culture that was safe, respectful and inclusive. With an absence of leadership in this place has come a culture where standards are not established or enforced, where misconduct is tolerated and where serious wrongdoings occur. We are all familiar with the worst consequences of this, but it is worth reflecting on the more mundane consequences too. Good people see this culture and choose not to make a career in politics, as members or staff, and the Australian people lose respect and faith in our parliament.

Last night I had the privilege to speak to a group of women from across the country who sit outside politics but who sat in the gallery yesterday for question time. They were absolutely appalled, outraged by what they saw. They saw it as behaviour that would not be acceptable in any one of their workplaces but which is encouraged and condoned by the leadership in this place—a waste of time, with shouting, mockery, abuse. And this was, frankly, a pretty typical question time in this place. There is also, they felt, a complete lack of accountability, which is what question time is meant to about. It is meant to hold the government of the day accountable to the people of Australia, but, because of the standing orders, where answers can basically be avoided, they gained absolutely nothing productive from the 90 minutes that they sat watching. Frankly, that's often how I feel too. I often think about the kids who come down and watch us, who look to us as leaders in this place. They look at how we behave, and they wonder, would their teachers condone that? Frankly, they wouldn't. This is one of the cultures that we need to change in this place. We are naive to think that you can walk out of question time, where people are shouting and baying and calling each other names, and then walk back into your offices and create a respectful and respectable workplace. We are absolutely kidding ourselves. This is just one part of the culture in parliament that falls far short of what Australians expect, but it's also one of most visible parts of our culture. The disrespect, bullying and harassment outrages the community, and it devalues all of us. We cannot call ourselves leaders in this country until we fix the culture of how we interact and work together in this place, and specifically in this chamber.

Every Australian should be able to visit the parliament and be treated with dignity, with respect and in accordance with the law. Every Australian should be able to watch behaviour in question time and be reassured that their elected representatives treat their colleagues, and others who work here, with respect and that we focus on the most important issues that the country faces, not political pointscoring. Set the standard has shone a light on the very worst behaviour in this place. We owe a great deal of debt to Kate Jenkins and the individuals who came forward to reveal their own painful experiences in the hope that documenting the past could improve the future.

I welcome the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023, because what it achieves—the creation of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, the implementation of the Set the standard recommendations and the behavioural codes—are all steps towards ensuring that improved standards will persist, whether we have a minority government, a pandemic, a war or whatever else confronts the parliament. It takes us further on the journey towards an independent parliamentary standards commission which would permanently embed behaviour standards in parliament.

We clearly have a long way to go before every person in this place is treated the way they ought to be treated. We are starting on the right path, but I fundamentally believe that, if we do not fix question time, if we do not fix how we behave towards each other and if the leaders, particularly of the major parties, do not also change their own behaviour, then we will not change the culture here.

Coming in as a crossbencher, I had no expectation that this was how it would be. But I imagine how different that is as a new MP from one of the major parties, because you see your leaders at the front shouting, baying and, I think, frankly, bullying and mocking—all the things I don't want my kids to do—every single day, and obviously we all follow our leaders. I think that is the benefit of the crossbench—having a different perspective. I have the perspective of my community and the seven or eight workplaces I've ever worked in. If I had behaved like this in any of my workplaces, I would have been out of on my ear and I would have deserved it.

We need to make changes in this House, but I support where the government is going in supporting this bill.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to express support for the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 in the context of the point made by the lead speaker for the opposition that we want to see this move through the parliament. We know the start date of 1 October is one that's important, and he did note that there are some ongoing discussions between the opposition and the government that might see some changes or adjustments to the bill in the Senate. As the lead speaker, the member for Hume, said, we really want to make sure that legislation of this kind is bipartisan and in fact unanimous throughout the parliament and we want this to be an opportunity for an enduring reform that does contribute to dramatic improvements to the way in which staff are supported in the workplace. I'm very confident that this bill will achieve those objectives, but we hope that a couple of those discussions with the government yield good, sensible, minor adjustments that will be in the best interests of some observations that we've got from experience.

We completely support the principle of what's happening here, of course, and I thank Kate Jenkins, as I've done in the past in some other contributions on matters on this topic. We appreciate the very hard work that she undertook in her report and we acknowledge how sobering and concerning it was to hear some of the experiences that were reflected on, without identifying people, in the body of work that she has done and in the commentary that she has provided on that process as well.

None of us want to be in a workplace where our staff are anything but respected, supported and proud to be here and to work for those of us that have the honour of serving in the Commonwealth parliament. Whilst, first and foremost, it's important that the reality of that respect is in place, it's also important, equally, that that is the perception in the community. I've felt at times in the last few years, when there were revelations about experiences that people had had in this building, a sense of great shame that, in a workplace that should be setting the highest standard of any, there were clearly people that were having the exact opposite experience and being treated in the exact opposite way.

We are in a different era from some of the awful stories from decades gone by about the treatment of people in any workplace. We've got to be the most progressive on these matters, and I think having these statutory provisions in place for the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service are going to ensure that it is an agency that holds parliamentarians to the highest of standards and makes sure that we have an awareness of our obligations in the workplace and that we are held to those obligations and standards—equally, staff, who in many circumstances would feel that they are employed in a situation where there can be significant power imbalances and a whole range of other complexities in working in politics.

We all know that staff tend to have a fairly heavy engagement in the fortunes of the political side of the person that they work for, and that at times they've got networks within the political parties, or the political movements in the case of Independents et cetera, where there are broader and further consequences for staff around their relationship and perhaps their future prospects in other things relating to the person that they work for. Those things create their own complexities, but certainly, when I reflect on the situation prior to where we find ourselves now with this new workplace support service, I also think it hasn't been in the interest of parliamentarians to have a Rafferty's rules-type situation where no-one really knows where to turn. With the greatest of respect to the excellent support that we have had from the departments and public servants, it has been very difficult in the frameworks that were in place in the past to manage the sorts of standard issues that come up in any workplace, let alone the additional issues that come up in one that's unique, as is working in the Australian Parliament House.

I commend the work of Kate Jenkins and the excellent work of all of the members of this place and the Senate who have served on the working group that has been progressing to this legislation and other elements of the workplace support structures. I thank everyone for that, and I do have great sense of hope that this will be seen as somewhat of an epochal moment in the culture of this building. No-one has disputed in any debate that I have heard that we need culture change. Regrettably, it has taken some fairly specific instances that have come to light to make everyone aware of a broader cultural issue, although these instances have had a different level of awareness to different members of parliament, depending on what your experiences have been. But the process that Kate Jenkins undertook has certainly made sure that we have a definitive and comprehensive body of work that we can reference to drive the cultural change we need, such as this legislation that is coming through the parliament now.

I commend the work of everyone in this process. It hopefully will be part of drawing a line under a dark chapter in the discourse of the way in which the parliament operates, and I express sincere regret and apologise as a member of parliament to all and any staff that have had the bad experiences that have led to us doing what we are doing here. I hope the action that we are taking means that people that have had bad experiences in the past and everyone in this building into the future will not have anything like those sorts of experiences again. On that basis, I commend these bills to the House.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and the Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill 2023. These bills are another significant step towards improving our parliamentary workplace culture. We are a unique workplace, but for too long parliamentarians and our staff have not had the right structures in place to ensure that we are a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Before I became a member of parliament, I worked in hospitals and university departments, and these workplaces had strong human resources support and complaints processes to minimise power imbalances and harmful workplace environments. They were not always perfect, but they were strong frameworks, nevertheless, to help support a better workplace environment. Like many others in this place, when I first came here, I was very, very surprised that the same structures did not exist. That our nation's parliament did not exemplify the standards of a professional workplace was seriously problematic for me.

In 2021, not long after I was elected, an independent review was established to investigate the Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, and it found that unacceptably high numbers of people, particularly women, in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces experienced bullying, sexual harassment or attempted or actual sexual assault whilst at work—shocking. We've all seen the grave impacts of this; I certainly have. Throughout that process, I sat down with brilliant people full of potential who came here to contribute to their country and who are now dealing with the consequences of a culture which disbelieved and sidelined them when they tried to speak up about that abuse. Our workplace failed them. The review produced the Set the standard report, which made recommendations to ensure parliament is a safe, respectful place and that, importantly, it reflects best practice in prevention and then in the appropriate response to bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault.

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 implements recommendation 11 of that Set the standard report. It legislates the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, or PWSS as we've come to know it, to provide centralised HR support and develop policies for workplace strategies, work health and safety, and training. These policies, structures and trainings may seem simple, but they are fundamental to a strong workplace culture where people can truly thrive, not just survive, in their careers. In the interim, this bill creates a function of the PWSS to respond to misconduct and provide early intervention and resolution for workplace conflict. I note that these functions are temporary, pending the establishment of an independent parliamentary standards commission. Such a commission is vital so that everyone in this building, be it a parliamentarian, staffer, journalist, public servant or independent contractor, has somewhere trusted and independent to go when they experience misconduct. I urge the government to go further than this bill and legislate this independent parliamentary standards commission. It is a critical pillar of reforming the workplace in our parliament and one that I've been advocating for a very long time.

In 2020, I introduced the Commonwealth Parliamentary Standards Bill, and that bill complemented, in fact it was the sister bill to, my Australian Federal Integrity Commission Bill, a bill that now is almost identical to the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill that this parliament historically passed last year as another important step towards strengthening public confidence in this Commonwealth parliament. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Standards Bill that I set out back then specifically set out a new parliamentary standards commission to assess, investigate, resolve or refer serious alleged breaches of the code of conduct. The commission would use the code of conduct, which is in place and was endorsed this year in this parliament, as a clear metric to identify and assess unethical conduct, conduct that we've unfortunately seen countless examples of in this parliament and that must not be repeated. Under my bill it was an independent office of the Parliament House within the Department of Parliamentary Services and reported through to the relevant privileges committee, to the Prime Minister or to the minister as specified.

Another key feature of that bill was that the parliamentary standards commission was to have the same powers as the Auditor-General to conduct investigations with appropriate safeguards to protect the rights to procedural fairness, rights to privacy, protection of personal reputation and advancement of public interest. It included provisions to deal with vexatious, frivolous or otherwise unreasonable claims. The commission I proposed was empowered to refer the most serious and systemic cases of potential corruption to the now National Anti-Corruption Commission for stronger objective investigation, if that was appropriate. The Prime Minister said, earlier this year, that the independent parliamentary standards commission will be established in the future. The Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister reiterated this when introducing the bill before us now. So I'll be watching closely when they do and making sure that a new parliamentary standards commission has the strong powers it needs to deliver on this crucially important role.

Like I did with the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, I look forward to working with the government to make sure that the oversight body meets the standards of the Australian people and that bad behaviour is never again simply swept under the rug out of sight. Our position as elected officials should never trump the safety of the people who come to work in this place.

I thank Kate Jenkins and her team for their work on the Set the standard report, now a touchstone for this parliament workplace culture. I also thank the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, who oversees the implementation of the Set the standard report's recommendations, and the staff consultation group, including a member of my own team, their work on these incredibly important bills. These bills are indeed a truly critical component of the national pro-integrity framework, but there is certainly much more work to do. I think we're up for it. I look forward to participating in it. I want to see us be an exemplar workplace, and I know others in this place do too. I commend these bills to the House.

Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am really pleased to have the opportunity to speak briefly on these very important bills, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and related bills, and reform for this parliament. Like so many others who have been in this place for some time now, I have been very clear that we need to do things differently here—that we cannot have a parliament that tolerates or allows for instances of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault to occur in this building and in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces around the country. Fixing this is part of what this bill will do, so it is very, very important work for this parliament. It is important work about how we must do better.

I want to be really clear to people in this place and to people in the Australian community that it is not okay for people in this parliament to think this is something that Australian people don't really care about—that actually, as long as we're getting on with passing bills and making laws, they don't care what our standards are and they don't care what our behaviour is. It's just not true. I also want to tackle the assumption that some people have put forward that this is such a special and unique workplace that we couldn't possibly have the types of rules and standards that other workplaces have in place. In fact, this is a special workplace. This is the workplace that sets the rules for workplaces around the country. That's one of the reasons why it is so important that we hold ourselves to the highest possible standards and that we have the structures in place to help us hold ourselves to the highest possible standards, and that's what this bill will do.

I know that Australians are with us as we continue to call out the failures, the mistakes, the terrible things that have happened in this parliament in the past, and as we commit ourselves to the changes that this parliament needs to see. This must be a safe workplace for all people. It must be a place where people feel they can contribute, behave appropriately and be safe.

I pay tribute to people across the parliament who have done a wealth of good work to get us to this point, particularly the Minister for Women, the member for Newcastle and many others who have championed this reform and the work that is yet to come. I pay tribute to the people outside of this parliament who shared their stories, who raised their voices, who demanded change, who made sure that we could not leave things as they were. I thank the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins for giving us a blueprint for reform. It is because of all of these people standing up and doing the good work that they have done that we are going to have a better parliament and that we are going to be representatives who do our jobs in the manner in which they should be done and in the manner in which the Australian people should expect us to do them. The Australian people can have confidence, and workers and staff in this place can have confidence in going about their work, that they are in a better environment, one that does hold perpetrators of bullying, harassment or assault to account.

We have made progress, and there is more to come. We need fundamental cultural change in this parliament, and I still believe that that will only happen when we have stronger structures in place to protect women, when there are strong consequences for men's actions and when we get the subsequent behaviour change from that piece. This piece that flows from the Set the standard report, which comes from the hundreds of individuals who shared their experiences of working in parliament and in other Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces, is so important. That report heard that for too many people these workplaces have not been safe environments. That has been driven by power imbalances, by gender inequality, by exclusion and by a lack of accountability. These experiences have left a trail of devastation for individuals and their teams, and they've undermined the performance of our parliament, to the nation's detriment. That is part of what we are trying to address here today. It is important.

I want to briefly address the work that still needs to happen. In addition to the great addition of the PWSS, which we are putting in place with this bill, we also need to work towards the introduction of another part of the Set the standard report's recommendations—the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. This is a key part of making sure that we are held to account for poor behaviour. It is a key part of making sure that there are consequences and that people know there is an independent structure that will deal with complaints and issues brought against parliamentarians and other people in this workplace. It is not beyond this parliament to hold ourselves to account. It is not beyond us to have consequences for members and others in this place who do not behave in the way they should in this workplace. This is a fundamental standard that we must hold ourselves to. This bill does good work on the way to putting in place some of the structures and reforms we must have, but there's more work to do. I look forward to joining with colleagues and the government as we do so.

Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with pleasure that I rise to speak on the Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill 2023 and the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023. These bills came about as a result of the shocking findings of the Human Rights Commission's independent review of the workplace culture here in Parliament House and across the country in Commonwealth parliament workplaces, and the resulting Jenkins Set the standard report. We should remember the facts that came out of that report.

The Set the standard report heard that 51 per cent of all people currently working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces have experienced at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault. The report found there was an absence of an adequate, authoritative people-and-culture function for parliamentarians and their staff and a lack of standardised people management processes. The report was asked to make recommendations to ensure that Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces are safe and respectful for all those who work in this place and in the parliamentary electoral offices around the country.

I commend the work of Kate Jenkins and her Set the standard report, which laid the foundation for this legislation. The bills are the product of extensive consultation with parliamentarians and staff across parliament, including through the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, its staff consultation group, and union representatives. I've had the pleasure of being on the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. Whilst there has at times been robust discussion, it is pleasing that we have gotten to the point of now having legislation before the parliament to progress some of the recommendations of the Set the standard report, but it's clear that there is still so far to go. I'd like to thank all the members of the taskforce for their contribution, especially the current and past staff who shared really confronting experiences and stories, who trusted in a system that had let them down during their own employment, in the hope of bettering the system for those who would come after them.

These bills seek to implement a start to better processes and standards. The federal parliament is one of Australia's most prominent workplaces. The people that work here should have the systems they need to go about their work in a professional, safe and respectful environment. The Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill will modernise the act, improve transparency and clarify the employment framework for parliamentarians and their staff. This bill will support cultural change in our parliamentary workplaces. The bill will underline the responsibilities and obligations of members of parliament as the employer, and it includes requirements intended to guide decision-making by parliamentarians about employment matters and to support fair outcomes and processes when making significant employment decisions. Appropriately, the bill provides for a further review within five years of the amendments commencing, which means that we'll have the opportunity to better this. I don't think any piece of legislation will be perfect in improving the standards.

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 implements recommendation 11 of the Set the standard report. It's an important step as the first major legislation to deal with the recommendations made in that report. Importantly, it establishes the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, PWSS, as an independent statutory agency to provide human resources services for parliamentary staff to prevent workplace issues and resolve problems earlier. Its key functions will be around human resources support for staff, policy development, education and training, review, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

The PWSS must prepare annual reports on gender and diversity of employees; gender equality and remuneration; employment of MOP staff; progress in prevention of and response to unacceptable conduct; culture and performance; and work health and safety matters. It is a very broad remit that the PWSS will seek to improve. Parliamentarians would also be required to consult with the new PWSS prior to making a decision in relation to the employment of staff, especially if it's in relation to termination or suspension of staff members with or without pay. The new provision for temporary suspension of employment will offer an alternative to termination and will be another mechanism to address risks in this workplace, as far too often those that have spoken up have seen themselves shuffled on or moved aside or seen their employment terminated.

There is still much that can be done better. We know that it's been slow getting to this point, with many changes still to come: more legislation, especially in relation to codes of conduct implementation and the IPSC, the independent parliamentary standards commission. It's now been two years since the Set the standard report was handed down. We need to work quickly. I know the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce is focused on the task in relation to establishing the independent parliamentary standards commission, which is a body which will ultimately implement the codes of conduct.

I think there needs to be a greater level of training in employment law for ministers and members of parliament, because we need to remember, for all those in this place, there hasn't automatically been experience when it comes to managing or employing people. As we take on the responsibilities of representing our electorates but also employing staff, it is important that more training and awareness of the requirements is had by members of parliament. Whilst there's a lot more to be done and more legislation to be implemented, I support these bills as an essential first step in making parliament a safer workplace.

Finally, it's impossible to talk about this legislation and the progress it represents without talking about even the events of this week. No legislation can ultimately change what is wrong with the culture of this place. It needs to come from members themselves, and it needs to come from leadership, especially when it comes to the major parties. This week's events in this place during question time have shown we still have a long way to go. We have seen senior members of major parties, in particular the opposition, behave in a way that is unbecoming of this parliament during question time. We should not have pointing, heckling, yelling or encouragement of people in the gallery to participate in the proceedings of this place, disregarding the warnings that have been made by the Speaker in relation to the conduct that is appropriate and befitting for this place. Over the last two days, I think that has shown just how much that culture still has to change.

This should be a place of debate, of respectful exchange of ideas. It can be robust, but it should never be disrespectful, and it should never be to a point and to a standard that is not befitting a place like here. We have children in the gallery. They are here now, but they are here during question time as well. They come away incredibly disillusioned and horrified that this is the standard. If this is the place, the heart of our nation, where we come up with laws that will direct the lives of so many millions of people, and this is the behaviour and conduct that's accepted, then what example are we setting the next generation, these children that come and watch?

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending an event for the International Women's Forum. These are leaders in business, the arts and not-for profit and profit organisations, with vast experiences in a world outside of this place. They sat through question time yesterday and were horrified. They were horrified at the incredible waste of time and taxpayer money that this represented, because there were no serious answers provided and there was conduct that was entirely inappropriate and that would never be accepted in any other workplace.

So I ask each and every member of this place to pause, to think about their conduct and to take responsibility for their conduct in this place and what example it sets and never let the fire or conviction of the rightness of their argument overcome what is correct and appropriate behaviour. We need to make sure that the culture in this place changes, and that is a responsibility of each and every one of us.

While this legislation starts to improves things, we have to do more. You cannot assume that you can conduct yourself in this place in an aggressive, bullying, harassing way and walk out of this chamber and then become a respectful boss for your employees and that you are somehow going to then adopt a whole different standard of conduct. This is where it is a slippery slope, and this is where the problems start. So it's incredibly important that every member in this place and the other place pause and reflect on their conduct and ensure they apply at all times the highest of standards.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm really glad to have the opportunity to speak on these important, historic bills, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and related bills, although I have to say at the outset that it is a little strange as someone who well before I became a candidate and then a member of parliament gave evidence to the Set the standard inquiry that of course informs the legislation before us today. I want to, at the outset, acknowledge all of the people who gave evidence to the process that led to the Set the standard report for being generous and brave with their stories and for being part of the important change we are now seeing in this country.

So terrible was the reputation of the parliament of Australia that, when I first became a candidate and I knocked on thousands of doors in my community of Chisholm, every single day someone would ask me if I was sure that I wanted to be a member of parliament and whether it was safe for me to be in this workplace. That was the extent to which the community felt so deeply ashamed of what they saw from Canberra. So to be able to support these bills today does a couple of things. It demonstrates that there is absolutely an appetite for change here in the parliament and to make things better for future generations of people who walk through the doors, whether as staff or as elected representatives or as guests to this building. It hopefully provides assurances to the community that there is significant change being made. I've reflected myself publicly on the change that I've seen in the 10 years since I worked in this building to now as a member of parliament, although I do want to acknowledge the fact that I occupy a role with different privilege and power now to that which I occupied before. So I acknowledge that my experience of this workplace is not everyone's experience, perhaps. These bills today commit us to making sure that this place is going to be safer now and in the future.

I know so many people are pleased to see these important pieces of legislation come before the House. The purpose of these bills, as we've heard from other speakers, is to deliver the commitments made in response to the recommendations of the Jenkins review. I want to thank and congratulate former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins for her fearless, fierce and vital work. This work really has meant that we are now going to head into a more positive era.

There were some awful stories we heard of harassment, assault and discrimination widely reported in the media and to the inquiry. As is said often, sunlight is the best disinfectant. I think that what we have seen through this whole process over the last almost two years since the Set the standard report was released is that there is change being made. Unfortunately, there were some pretty awful numbers that came out in the analysis of the interview data. Nearly a quarter of all people working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces completed the survey, and 33 per cent reported that they had experienced some form of sexual harassment; 37 per cent had experienced some form of bullying; 51 per cent had experienced at least one incident of bullying, harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault in a Commonwealth parliamentary workplace; and 77 per cent had experienced, witnessed or heard about bullying, sexual harassment and/or actual or attempted sexual assault in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces.

The saying goes that the standard we walk past is the standard we accept, and, for too long, too many people accepted a standard that was not fitting for this place and certainly not the kind of example leaders in this country should be setting for Australians right across our communities and our country. I want to emphasise how important it is that this place set the standard because, while we are talking about the parliamentary workplace now, we must remember that harassment, discrimination and assault are experienced—often in a gendered way—by people right across this country all the time in workplaces as varied as factories, farms, offices and educational institutions. So it is for all of those workers, too, that these changes are so important—to set a standard for everybody in this country around what constitutes a safe, respectful and acceptable workplace.

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service will go some way to making the change that we all want to see in this place. It will go some way to making sure that people feel appropriately supported in their time here. Obviously, we can do more. We can always do more, and it is on all of us in this place to be ever vigilant about making sure that we're always doing the right thing and that we're never walking past behaviour that we should be calling out. Cultural and behavioural change are difficult. I want to acknowledge that. That's why we all have to work hard every single day. Passing this legislation is just the beginning of ongoing work here. I want to see an independent parliamentary support service review every now and then, too, so that we can evaluate how well things are working. We do not want to have another situation, where, in years to come, evidence is given to an inquiry and the numbers haven't changed and people are still experiencing discrimination, harassment and assault.

It is really heartening to see that so many people in this place want to do better and lift the standard. It is encouraging, too, that the community are behind us. I certainly feel that way. But the culture, the safety and the standards of this workplace won't improve unless all of us do the necessary work every single day to maintain those standards and, where necessary, lift them.

Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Set the standard report found that one in three parliamentary staffers in this building had experienced some form of sexual harassment as had many female parliamentarians. This is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace, whether that's in Parliament House or anywhere else. The Greens welcome and support these bills, which give the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, the PWSS, statutory authority and an expanded mandate.

The accompanying changes to the MOPS Act will make improvements to the rights of our workers by requiring employment conditions to be publicly available and clarifying the triggers for automatic termination of employment. These are positive and overdue reforms to create a safer and more respectful workplace. Establishing an independent PWSS is a key recommendation of the Set the standard report, and it's already been delayed for too long. This bill has gone through all the due processes. It has taken account of feedback from staff and the unions. Now it is time to pass it so that staff and the community can see real action on the recommendations.

The PWSS has been a huge step forward to improving parliament, but without enforcement powers it can't solve the problem. That's what the future Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission will do, and we urge the other parties to push along to get that done. The PWSS education, reporting and monitoring roles will keep parties on track for their commitments to improving diversity within parliament. We've made some progress, but we still have a long way to go. Cultural diversity is still lacking in our workplace.

The Greens will continue to push for the reforms to parliamentary culture and other procedural protections to be rolled out nationally as a matter of urgency. And I want to recognise the strength and resilience that Brittany Higgins as well as many others have shown in driving this change. To end Australia's culture of sexual violence, harassment and abuse we must start by supporting victims to come forward, and dismantling power imbalances and gender stereotypes that deter them from doing so. Staff and the community deserve to see action on all the Jenkins Set the standard recommendations and they deserve that action now.

The Greens will continue to monitor the PWSS to ensure it has the resources and the powers it needs to create a safe and respectful workplace. But, of course, the ultimate test is whether staff feel safe at work, whether parliamentarians feel safe at work and whether people watching this place think that parliament is somewhere that they would want to work.

I support these bills and briefly, in conclusion, I'd like to place on the record my thanks to the PWSS for all the work they've done so far. I can't speak for others, but I know my team have found them invaluable and of huge assistance. If any member of this place hasn't yet engaged with the PWSS in its old role or its new role, I encourage you to do so. The support has been terrific and has been invaluable. I also place on the record my thanks to our Greens senators Larissa Waters and Mehreen Faruqi, who've been part of bringing these reforms into practice on behalf of the Greens. I commend the bills to the House.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill 2023 and the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023 advance the government's commitment to implement the recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission's Set the standard report. In summing up this debate, I will outline again what we seek to do in these bills and the associated Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill 2023 and then note some of the valuable contributions made by all sides of this chamber over the course of today.

The implementation of the report's recommendations is a shared responsibility of this parliament. In recognition of that joint responsibility, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill package is a product of extensive and close engagement with members of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce along with the task force's staff consultation group. The government would like to thank the task force members and staff for their engagement with the bill.

The bill stays true to the guiding principles of the Set the standard report. Members contributing to this debate want to see not just the parliament lift standards, we want to see this parliament set the standard. These bills demonstrate that parliamentarians are taking that responsibility as leaders seriously. I also want to thank the many members who've had longstanding commitment to progress on these issues in this chamber but who have not spoken in the debate because they've chosen to prioritise transmission to the Senate. I thank all of those members. I thank those members, including those in the coalition, who continue to engage with the responsible minister on this bill and its passage.

The bill provides for a new human resources entity to support the employment relationship between parliamentarians and their staff. The new Parliamentary Workplace Support Service will play a key role in advancing the professionalisation of that relationship. A significant distinction from the existing arrangement is that the new Parliamentary Workplace Support Service is independent. It cannot be directed by any person in the performance of its functions or exercise of its powers. Furthermore, and consistent with an overarching theme in the Set the standard report, the new Parliamentary Workplace Support Service will have functions concerned with making Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces safe and respectful. It is imperative we can see progress being made on that front. That is why the new Parliamentary Workplace Support Service will be required to publish annual reports. These reports will cover the culture of the parliamentary workplace as well as progress in preventing workplace misbehaviour.

As we have heard, the parliament is both a unique and a prominent workplace. The people who work here should have the systems they need to go about their work in a professional, safe and respectful environment. I would also like to acknowledge the staff of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service who, as many members have noted, are an incredible benefit and addition to this building, and it was really a great honour to have them join us in the gallery when this bill was first introduced. I hope I speak for all members and senators when I say we greatly appreciate the work that you all do.

The Members of Parliament (Staff) Amendment Bill complements the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill package. It does this by modernising the employment framework for parliamentarians and their employees. It implements recommendations from the review of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act undertaken by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet last year. That review in turn implemented recommendation 18 of the Set the standard report. The bill clearly sets out the responsibilities of parliamentarians and employees under modern workplace laws. This includes employment principles to set expectations for the workplace. The bill will provide greater clarity and certainty both for MOP(S) Act employees and for parliamentarians. Together with the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Bill package, these bills are important reforms for the Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces.

I want to thank all members who contributed to this debate, and I'll start by thanking—and I think members will understand why—the member for Newcastle for her contribution in the debate and her contribution to the development of this bill. Her work as the chair of the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards has been widely recognised this morning and across the parliament in recent months. Again I want to note that it is, I think, 10 years to the day that we've had the fantastic contribution of the member for Newcastle, and this bill is one example of that. As she said, in speaking on behalf of that committee, every member of the committee 'has a deep personal commitment to ensuring that we drive cultural change in this building'. I also want to note, in that regard, the work of the member for Blair in assisting the development of that committee's work.

We also had a contribution from the member for Jagajaga, who spoke on behalf of not just her community but all Australians when she said, 'I know that Australians are with us as we continue to call out the failures, mistakes, the terrible things that have happened in this place in the past, and as we commit ourselves to the changes the parliament needs to see.' I think, again, members can agree with that sentiment.

I want to note that the member for Chisholm said that this is not just for all of us now but for those who might seek to join the parliament in the future or seek to work in a parliamentary workplace in the future. I also acknowledge the fact that by doing this work today we enhance the quality of the experience for those who visit this building, including those from the Shire of Laverton who are in my office at the moment, as I am here delivering this speech. I am sorry I have missed part of that meeting.

We also had very thoughtful contributions from the member from Hume, noting that 'there have already been concrete changes that will make our workplaces more safe and respectful'. He also took the opportunity to highlight the work of the Foster review in ensuring that we now have what is the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, and I add my thanks and the government's thanks to Stephanie Foster for that work. We had the member for Sturt, who pointed out the obvious, in that none of us wants to be in a workplace where our staff are anything but respected, supported and proud to be here. I endorse that comment.

I thank those on the crossbench. The member for Goldstein talked about the importance of having the systems that are needed to ensure that people can go about their work in a safe and respectful way. The member for North Sydney pointed out that we have over 4,000 people working in Parliament House on any given sitting day and thousands more across the country in electorate offices. I thought it was very appropriate that she highlighted the work that our electorate office teams do across this huge country we call Australia. The member for Wentworth highlighted that we 'owe a great debt to Kate Jenkins and the other individuals who came forward to reveal their own painful experiences in hope that that document could improve the future'. The member for Warringah noted, again: 'The parliament is one of our most prominent workplaces. The people here should have the systems to go about work in a professional and safe environment.' And I thank the member for Melbourne for his contribution, just noting that, as he did, the power of this being now a statutory authority with an expanded mandate will give us an even stronger Parliamentary Workplace Support Service.

With those concluding comments, I commend the bill.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.