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

I'm rising on indulgence in light of yesterday's events in this chamber to ask you to please provide some guidance around what is and what is not acceptable behaviour in this place to ensure we all feel safe, both in our seats as we sit here during debate but also after any vote has taken place. I ask this of you as someone who has worked in a number of different environments over the last 30 years, many of which have been male dominated and have involved participating in an environment where debate was essential to bring the best ideas out of everyone. However, yesterday's behaviour left me feeling like my senses had been assaulted by what I experienced as excessive and unconstructive noise and aggression being thrown around the room.

Sadly, this is not the first time I've experienced that sensation during question time in this chamber. Some may argue that yesterday's was an exceptional circumstance, where the opposition chose to dissent from your ruling, as they were entitled to do so under our standing orders. But, be that as it may, once the dissenting motion was moved by the opposition, I believe the tone of the debate was overly aggressive and personalised, with numerous examples of condescending and offensive language designed, I believe, to intimidate others within this chamber.

In any other professional environment this sort of behaviour would be completely unacceptable. As all in this place know, I stood yesterday to ask you to bring the chamber to order, and I thank you for doing that. If I could have, Mr Speaker, I would have left the chamber yesterday, but it is my understanding that, ironically, that is not acceptable behaviour.

I then voted on the subsequent motions as I thought was appropriate, and it was following the votes that perhaps the most confronting experience took place, for me, personally, yesterday, with one particular member from the opposition, while returning to his seat, yelling aggressively at me, and at others on the crossbench. He aggressively challenged my voting decision, referring to the testimony I had provided two nights earlier to a procedure committee inquiry into standing orders, during which I had expressed a desire to see questions answered more directly. His tone was hostile and his body language was aggressive. To the best of my recollection, his words were: 'Well, where were you today, then, hey? You say you want clearer answers? Well, that was your chance. And where were you?' As he yelled this at me, he was shaking his head and looking at me in a way that I found to be aggressive, and, honestly, quite confronting.

Had this been the first time I'd found myself the direct attention of this sort of behaviour, I may have brushed it off, but this follows a pattern I've experienced more than once since I entered this chamber. And I've noticed many other female colleagues have experienced this sort of treatment, particularly our member here in the front row, Angie Bell—sorry; member for Moncrieff—just as you expelled somebody from this chamber.

As a member of this parliament, someone working here in this place, I do not feel proud of the way my workplace was represented yesterday. And, quite frankly, I did not feel safe.

I've thought long and hard about asking this of you today, because I am mindful that, in speaking out, I might inflame rather than tame the situation. I came to this place wanting to speak for my community in what I consider to be the highest chamber in the land, and I did that because I believe this place should be a place of mutual respect, learned discussion and, dare I say it, a capacity to listen to each other. But, as evidenced in yesterday's display, I fear we are such a distance from that reality.

This morning, many of us spoke in support of the legislation to establish the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service, and this legislation is to be welcomed. But, as I found out upon leaving the chamber yesterday and reaching out to it for advice and support, that body will not be able to reach into this chamber.

So I ask of you today, Mr Speaker: how are we expected to behave in this place, and what responsibility do each of us bear to do better, today and every day hereafter?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member. By any measure, this has been a combative week in the chamber. Such behaviour does not reflect well on the House or on any of us. It's expected that parliamentary debate will expose differences of opinion, but we have to find ways of engaging in debate that also maintain respectful behaviour. We are simply not meeting the standards we should be meeting. This requires change.

Before question time, as members know, the House passed legislation through the parliament, which has gone to the Senate, that will help us build a safer and a more respectful parliamentary workplace. But the legislation is just words and pieces of paper, unless the House, all of us—unless we all act differently. I hope this means something to all of us. We must do better.