Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Faruqi. I am in agreement with you that there is a very serious problem when it comes to sexual violence on Australian university campuses, and this is something the Albanese government takes very seriously. The 2021 National Student Safety Survey found that 16.1 per cent of students had been sexually harassed and 4.5 per cent of students had been sexually assaulted during their time at university. And, as I'm sure you're aware, Senator Faruqi, in last month's NTEU sexual harassment survey report, 29 per cent of respondents said they had had a personal experience of sexual harassment while 50 per cent said they were aware of others who had been sexually harassed. Those figures are simply not good enough.

The Australian Universities Accord interim report, released earlier this year, made five recommendations, and one of these is the need to improve university governance, with a focus on ensuring students' safety on campus. As you'd be aware, Senator Faruqi, the Minister for Education, Mr Clare, has established a working group with representatives from each state and territory and has appointed Ms Patty Kinnersly to this working group. Ms Kinnersly is the CEO of Our Watch, a national leader in the primary prevention of violence against women and children in Australia. The minister has previously told the parliament that it's time to act and that universities have not done enough. He's met with representatives from the STOP campaign, End Rape on Campus, and Fair Agenda. Amongst many things, they raised issues regarding residential colleges, lack of information on how to make a complaint, and the lack of formal feedback following a complaint.

Turning to the issues around the ombudsman, the working group is expected to deliver draft recommendations to education ministers next week. The minister has already said that they are considering a number of actions, including the establishment of a national student ombudsman. The minister has also said that the status quo is not good enough and that this government is serious about making a difference on this very important issue.