Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

It's not that long ago that this parliament received the Human Rights Commission Set the standard report that the parliament commissioned. The Human Rights Commission was asked to make recommendations to ensure that the Commonwealth parliamentary workplace is safe and respectful, and that the nation's parliament reflects best practice in prevention and response to bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault. I'm surprised that I need to say this, but I will remind this chamber that that review was supported by both sides of politics. During the course of the inquiry, the Human Rights Commission conducted interviews with current and former occupants of this building about their experiences. And if you haven't read it, it might be time to get it off the shelf again.

An interviewee to the Set the standard report said this:

This is Parliament. It should set the standard for workplace culture, not the floor of what culture should be.

It's worth reflecting on, isn't it, because we should work every day in this place to be worthy of the faith the Australian people put in us to solve issues, to lead by example and to set our shoulders to the wheel of change—and that should include changing the way our parliament works and the way that we talk here about women, about rape, about sexual assault and, most importantly, about survivors.

I acknowledge and I thank Senator Gallagher for her statement in the chamber earlier today and the frank way she responded to questions today. I note that this frankness has not been replicated by others who arguably have much, much more to explain. Senator Gallagher has given a clear and compelling explanation of the interaction she had with Senator Reynolds, including the comments that Senator Reynolds made at that time. She has given a clear explanation of the role played by the Attorney-General, including that the finance minister has no decision-making role in processes around significant legal matters. But I think what's more important, and something that people here may need to reflect upon, is she has explained her overarching approach to the way she has responded to people who have come to her as a parliamentarian for support over the years. They've come to her for support in relation to allegations of sexual assault. She has talked about the need to centre the experience and needs of victims-survivors ahead of anything else, including respecting their confidentiality, and she has explained that that is an approach she has adopted throughout her public life.

The truth is how we talk about this matters, how we talk about the victims who come forward and how we talk about those who don't matters. Eighty-seven per cent of Australians who have experienced sexual assault don't report it, and parliament should be doing everything we can to lower this number. And I worry about what's unfolding here in this chamber, and outside of it. I worry about people who are considering disclosing their experience, and I worry about what they would think while watching this debate unfold. Victims already know that one-quarter of Australians believe women exaggerate the problem of male violence. Does the conduct of the debate today assist with shifting that narrative? And if it doesn't, people might reflect on why not and why that isn't a higher priority of those opposite in what they've been up to today.

The Sex Discrimination Commissioner has said:

… the current system for addressing workplace sexual harassment in Australia is complex and confusing for victims and employers to understand and navigate. It also places a heavy burden on individuals to make a complaint.

Well, the opposition seems to be doing everything in its power—everything!—to demonstrate just how heavy that burden can be. We came together as a parliament as recently as 1 December last year to commit ourselves to doing better. Let's just see if that's possible.