Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One in three—that is the shocking number that headlines the Jenkins report on the workplaces of this parliament. One in three are sexually harassed. That is 40 per cent of women, and one in four men, sexually harassed. This harassment is experienced even more acutely by First Nations people and other people of colour, and more acutely by LGBT people, with more than half sexually harassed in the workplaces of this parliament. This harassment is experienced more acutely by people with disability. Of course, these are not just statistics; these are people—people who came to this place to build careers and to make a meaningful contribution to their communities. This is shameful and it must end now.

At the core of all of this is power, entitlement and privilege. There is a complete lack of accountability from those in power and a lack of diversity. The worst thing about all of this for me is the message that this place is sending to those people who might hold a dream of one day building a future here, the young people who want to come here and make their contribution to the future of our country, but who now might be rethinking those dreams. I want those people to come here and make their mark. I want them to experience the buzz that I still experience approaching this amazing building on the hill in the morning and to experience that immense feeling of pride in taking their place right here. So to all of those people rethinking their dreams I want to say, from this chamber, that you belong here, and it is the bullies who do not.