Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table the 2023 annual report of the implementation of the recommendations from the Set the standard report. Today on the second anniversary of the adoption of the Set the standard report, I acknowledge that an unacceptably high rate of people, particularly women, in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces have experienced bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault whilst at work. This misconduct is unacceptable, and I acknowledge the grave impact it had, or continues to have, on previous and current staff. For two years, the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce has led the implementation of the Set the standard report reforms. The parliament thanks the taskforce for their continuous work and leadership.

Today, we recommit the parliament to positive change and acknowledge achievements to date, including establishing the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service as a statutory body, offering independent and confidential support to everyone in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces; reforms to modernise the members of parliament act to ensure employees are protected from discrimination as well as refreshed professional development and improved management practices; undertaking reviews to further enhance inclusivity and dignity of access of Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces; endorsing clear and consistent codes of conduct, with consultations on the proposed independent Parliamentary Standards Commission expected to commence shortly; supporting the health and wellbeing of staff and parliamentarians with enhanced wellbeing services; improving work health and safety with a new framework to manage shared risks; and additional professional development opportunities to support leaders at all levels, particularly induction programs and training on safe and respectful workplaces.

While significant progress has been made, the journey towards truly respectful and inclusive Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces is ongoing. Cultural change will come only with the goodwill of all of us parliamentarians. We must remain committed to building a workplace reflecting the nation's values and expectations, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of everyone who works in and supports the Parliament of Australia.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I thank the President for the chance to make a statement on this important occasion. Two years ago, this parliament made a statement of acknowledgement in response to the experiences shared by too many people in this place that working in parliament was not a place where people, particularly women, felt safe, supported or respected. This followed cross-parliament support for the release of the Set the Standard report.

As a parliament we committed to do better, acknowledging that, while it should be a workplace that leads by example, it was not. At the time, a number of current and former staff and elected representatives bravely and frankly shared their experience with the then Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ms Kate Jenkins. These experiences highlighted many of the issues that for too long have characterised the experience of working in parliament, including gender inequality, with a lack of women in senior roles; a lack of accountability in systems for those who wanted to report misconduct; a 'work hard, play hard' culture at Parliament House, which had left some, particularly young women, vulnerable to exploitation and sexual assault; and high levels of power and discretion in relation to employment, combined with insecure employment.

Today, we once again acknowledge that we can and must do better, and reiterate our ongoing commitment to making those changes. We table the second annual report of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, which sets out how we have progressed many of the recommendations and the work that is continuing. As per the recommendations of the Set the standard report, today's acknowledgement provides a time and place to have an annual discussion about behaviour and standards in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. There were 28 recommendations in the report and we adopted all of them, as did the former government. We have achieved some significant progress in implementing the reforms. Thirteen recommendations have been implemented, with all other recommendations in progress, partially implemented or requiring ongoing work.

On 1 October last year, we established the statutory Parliamentary Workplace Support Service. The PWSS is an independent agency that provides human resources support to parliamentarians and staff, as well as services to a wider cohort of people, to support a safe and respectful workplace and to support complaint resolution and review functions for misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment. This built on the important work to improve the culture of the parliament, which the service had been supporting since its establishment. The government has also delivered legislation to implement recommendations from a review of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984. That reform modernised the employment framework for parliamentarians and their staff.

We remain focused on the work required to finalise implementation of the report's recommendations, with the establishment of the independent parliamentary standards commission, or the IPSC, a key priority for us all in this parliament. We are working hard to establish the IPSC by 1 October this year, subject to legislative passage and further discussions with all members and senators. This will be a significant piece of work. It's critical to the government and, I know, to members of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce that we get it right. The government will work through the detail of the proposed legislation with the PLT, as we did with the former Parliamentary Workplace Support Service bills. Ultimately, the final design of the IPSC will be a matter for the parliament to determine, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the parliament to land this important piece of work.

Before I conclude, I want to acknowledge the work of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. I thank those senators and members of the House who have worked collaboratively as part of that group. I want to thank the chair, Dr Vivienne Thom, and acknowledge her work in bringing us together for these meetings, and I thank her for agreeing to stay on a little longer as we progress the work around the IPSC. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the secretariat, who have supported the PLT for the past two years: Mr Simon Arnold and Ms Tegan Johnson. It's not always easy bringing together a diverse group of politicians, and they've been a great support to us in our shared efforts to make this place a safer, better place to work.

I'd also like to acknowledge all the members of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce: those who sit in this chamber, Senator Hume, Senator Waters, Senator Davey and Senator Farrell; and those from the other place, Ms Sussan Ley, Ms Zali Steggall and Ms Sharon Claydon. I'm just making sure I haven't missed anybody there. It really is an example of what the parliament can do to get work done when we all put our shoulder to the wheel. I'd like to particularly acknowledge the discussions and the collaboration I've had with Senator Hume and the engagement we have out of session on these matters, and Senator Waters as well. Thank you very much. It isn't something that we can do on our own.

I know everyone is deeply committed to improving the culture and workplace experience or work experience—for our staff, in particular, but for all of us in this place. We know there's always a bit of hurly-burly in this job. We engage in combat from time to time, and it can be quite willing, but I think we also remain deeply committed to making sure that the structures, the foundations and the rights and responsibilities of staff in this place are protected through the work that we're doing on the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. From the engagement that we've had with staff, including staff who have come back to this workplace in the time that this work has been going on, I would also acknowledge that this workplace has changed, and it has changed for the better. There's still work to be done, but I know, through the work of the PLT and from the commitment of every senator in this place, that we will continue to improve this workplace and address the issues that were identified in Set the standard.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Liberal Party and the coalition also welcome the 2023 annual report from the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. Everybody deserves to feel safe and respected in their workplace. This second annual report from the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce is the health check on the work to make our Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces the safe and respectful places that they should be. This body plays an important role in ensuring that the work undertaken to implement those recommendations is done with consensus and meets the needs of our workplaces.

I'd like to also thank my fellow members of the PLT: Senators Davey, Gallagher, Farrell and Waters and the members in the other place, Ms Ley, Ms Claydon and Ms Steggall. We've worked very closely together to keep government departments focused on the implementation of these reforms. I want to acknowledge that, while we come from different parties and have different perspectives, it is always constructive in how we pursue that shared goal. This work has been done in consultation with all parts of our workplaces: parliamentarians, staff and members of parliamentary departments and government departments. Even those observers in the press gallery have rightly become part of our consultation process, because they too are a very important part of the culture in our workplaces.

As I noted last year, the work to change our workplaces has been made easier thanks to measures introduced by the previous coalition government. They include an independent and confidential complaints mechanism, which continues in much the same form today; the first PWSS; a confidential 24-hour support service; and new training and education programs. And the parliament of course made the first statement of acknowledgement, which is why this annual report is being tabled today, two years since that first report was made.

I want to acknowledge that, while there are many objectives that are still outstanding, progress has been made. First, the most significant change that the parliament has seen is the transition of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service into a statutory body. This is a very important change. It's one that reflects the implementation of the Jenkins review being done in ways that leverage what is already working. The PWSS, which has officers inside parliament and is accessible around the clock, has now been established under its own act of parliament and is completely independent of government.

However, if we're going to be honest today, we should also acknowledge that there are some delays in implementing some of the significant recommendations. We're still to see the implementation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, and this is a really important reform. We acknowledge the complexity that is involved—that is of no doubt—but it's certainly a challenge that we're going to have to address collectively. The work of the PLT has been extended until October this year to see that this work is done. The taskforce agrees that we haven't seen enough work done to implement the parliamentary health and wellbeing service, which is so important, particularly to our thousands of staff in this place.

I also acknowledge that many other recommendations are ongoing. For those who might read this report and can't see the haste with which changes should be implemented or feel we have slipped, I say we are entirely aware that there needs to be a constant commitment to create and keep a better culture. For instance, the fact we are, in this calendar year, seeing the parliament sit during two school holiday weeks in Queensland might sound like a small thing but it's worth considering for those families from Queensland that may have small children. Holding those extended sitting hours or excessive hours should be something that occurs as an exception rather than a rule, for those very same reasons.

For all that, we should be encouraged by our progress. I thank the independent chair of the task force, Dr Vivienne Thom; your management of our work has been exemplary. I also, like Senator Gallagher, thank the task force secretariat—in particular the long-suffering, ever-patient Tegan Johnson and Simon Arnold, who always keep us on track. I note both Simon and Tegan may well go on to bigger and better things. Please know your contribution to our workplace will always be remembered.

This parliament should serve as a model workplace. We still have work to do—we have all acknowledged that—but we should be very pleased with the progress we've made.

Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise for the Australian Greens to speak on the Set the standard annual report. This is the third time I have risen to speak on the implementation of recommendations from the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner's Set the standard report. Those recommendations were intended to be fully implemented within 12 months, not three years. I am proud of the progress that has been made, but there is no doubt that it has been too slow and we still have a long way to go.

Establishing an independent, trauma informed parliamentary workplace support service to support staff and MPs dealing with harassment and abuse has been a huge step forward, as has adopting draft codes of conduct for senators. But, without enforcement powers, they cannot solve the problem. Recommendation 22 of the Set the standard report was that the houses of parliament should establish within 12 months an independent parliamentary standards commission to enforce codes of conduct. That IPSC was expected in October 2023. That time frame was first extended until February this year and has now blown out one whole year until October 2024. This is the second extension, and, without this body, bad behaviour continues to go unchecked. We know that, without real prospects that an MP will be sanctioned, staff are reluctant to come forward. Consequences are crucial. As a member of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, I know work to set up the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission is complex but there is no doubt it has been much too slow—inexcusably so.

Members of parliament have significant power to shape the lives of our communities. Given that responsibility, we need a system that effectively holds us to account. Set the standard recommended that the IPSC have the power to operate a fair, independent, confidential and transparent system to receive disclosures as well as handle complaints about misconduct, make findings about misconduct, make recommendations on sanctions and apply sanctions for a breach of the code of conduct. Without genuine consequences, such as suspension from parliament or loss of entitlements or directions to provide a public apology, there is little to deter the bad behaviour that we see time and time again. The Greens will continue to push for real accountability and transparency so that the IPSC, when it is eventually established, can effectively hold people to account. While that work to establish the IPSC is being done, it is still the responsibility of every MP to act consistently with the commitments that we made when endorsing those codes of conduct and for all parties to act quickly in response to complaints.

We know that, for First Nations people, people of colour and people with disability, harassment and disrespect experienced in this place or online when working in parliamentary roles is even worse. Sexism, racism, ablism, homophobia and classism persist and are even more damaging and dangerous when they intersect. Increasing diversity in this place is crucial. That cannot happen without measures to make this a safe workplace for a more diverse range of people. I salute my colleagues Senator Faruqi, Senator Cox and Senator Steele-John as true leaders in that space. But we have a long way to go. When female MPs are still being subject to sexist, intimidatory behaviour, you can only imagine how much worse it is for staff. Indeed, Set the standard showed that more than half those surveyed had experienced at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault.

We are deeply sorry, and we have to be better—every single one of us, every single day. We must make sure that current and former staff, affected survivors, are involved in these reforms in a meaningful way and feel supported to tell us when we're not doing enough or when we're going too slowly. We must support those who have suffered and who are still suffering from their experience. We must continue the work to establish a robust, independent, confidential complaints process that people can trust and will use. Here in parliament, it is time, finally, for our workplace to set the standard.

In concluding, I'd like to add my thanks to the secretariat of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce. I thank Dr Vivienne Thom for continuing on in the role until October, and I pay particular thanks to Mr Simon Arnold and Ms Tegan Johnson for the excellent support that they've provided as the secretariat. I wish them the best in their future roles.

It does feel like this place has changed, but we still have so much further to go, and this isn't just a tick-a-box exercise, folks. We really need to hurry up, get on with establishing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, agree on giving it strong powers and actually put that work into practice. There's no more time for excuses.

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the Nationals and as a member of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce to comment on the 2024 annual report. At the outset, I want to thank my colleagues on the taskforce for their constructive and collaborative efforts to implement the recommendations of the Set the standard report authored by then Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.

I agree with my colleague Senator Hume, because change takes time. It is vitally important that when we're going through these recommendations and working out how to implement them—when we're taking it from the theoretical to the practical—we strongly consider all the implications and ramifications of what is proposed to make sure that we don't inadvertently bring about unintended consequences that can actually make it worse for us, for our staff and for all the people who work in this building. We don't want to accidentally create a situation where we, by trying to address issues, create something that might have more risk. So it is right that we take a respectful approach to these recommendations and make sure that we are implementing things that are practical and enforceable but don't create excess risk.

One of the first things that the PLT did was manage to establish the PWSS, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service. That has now been legislated and is always fully operational. I want to thank the staff at the PWSS and commend their early work and the work they continue to do. I have heard from both staff and parliamentarians that just having this service that they can go to for confidential information and feedback has given them a greater level of confidence in their own ability to manage staff, to manage complaints and to manage workplace issues. So I really want to commend the PWSS. I think it is a great service and, as time goes on, its value will be further recognised.

In the PLT, together we have worked to see 13 of the 28 recommendations fully implemented, and that is progress. There are also eight recommendations in progress, six partly implemented and one pending. That is a significant achievement that should be recognised, as well as the achievement of bringing together members from across the political spectrum to pass the legislation that was needed and to adopt the changes required to make this place a better, safer and more respectful place to work.

When I attended the breakfast held by UN women this morning to set the scene and establish the theme for this year's International Women's Day—the theme of 'Count Her In', to empower women and to address financial literacy across women—it really brought home what we're trying to achieve in the PLT, not just for women but for the range of diversity we should celebrate in this society, be it race, religion, gender, geography or heritage. That's what we need to support and that's what this place needs to recognise, because it should be all of that. We who are elected to this place have a responsibility to represent our constituents honestly and with integrity, and those we employ and those who are employed in this building to help us do our jobs should be able to go about their business safely, without fear of harassment or bullying, and with respect.

So I, too, thank the secretariat. I thank Vivienne Thom and I thank all my colleagues who are committed to working together to make this place a better place to work. Thank you.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the report of the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces. I thought I would start with a statement from one of the staffers who spoke to the inquiry:

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

Who could possibly argue with that? But, as we have seen over the past few years, the standard of workplace culture in this place is not that flash. We have heard a lot of hair-raising stories about the culture of bullying and sexual harassment in this place. I'm not going to speak about this, because I can see that plenty of you have. What I do want to talk about is what the report says about 'long and irregular hours of work'—not something that will be touched by the government's industrial relations reforms, mind you, because none of those reforms apply to the people who work in parliament.

When this government was elected, one of its first acts was to take two advisers from every lower house and Senate crossbencher. At the time, the Prime Minister said that crossbench MPs shouldn't have twice the staff of government and opposition MPs. He also said that assistant ministers should get only two additional staff, according to the Prime Minister, and that it was not sustainable for crossbench MPs to have more. What the Prime Minister was ignoring and didn't bother to tell the public was this: assistant ministers have an army of public servants from their departments, not to mention the resources of the party machine, to draw upon. Crossbenchers do not have that. We have two advisers, who have to be across all the legislation coming through. That's our job, and I take that very seriously.

'Respect' is a word that appears on almost every page of the Set the standard report. But what was very clear to every crossbencher in the Senate and the House is that the Prime Minister has very little respect for the job we do, let alone our staff. And this was after the Prime Minister promised to treat the crossbench with respect. We usually get the legislation for each week's sitting in the last few days before the next sitting. Maybe they think that if the crossbench gets the legislation late then they won't bother to go through it; they will just wave it through. But that's something I will never do.

This means that my advisers have to work the weekend before a sitting, and they usually work the weekend in the middle of the sitting. That's 17 days straight by the time we have finished. So, we get all the bills a few days before they hit the Senate. This can mean that my team have to get across a lot of bills. Then there are the amendments, which, again, can be many, especially in a week like this, when we're doing IR. We have to dissect the amendments and then go back out and engage with the stakeholders, not to mention preparing speeches that accurately respond to the legislation in question.

And of course then there are estimates and the parliamentary business of the Senate, holding the government to account on behalf of the Australian people. Then there are the committees that we participate in, which are really important, especially if you are new and want to learn a lot more. That means going to as many hearings as you possibly can to get good at your job, reading all the submissions and, again, engaging with the stakeholders. I couldn't do any of that without the hard work of my team. It's my job to be across all this, and I work long hours and am paid well to do that job for the Australian people.

To be clear, I am not complaining, because I love my job—just as I did in uniform—and I find it an absolute privilege. My concern is for the health and welfare of my staff. When parliament is sitting, my staff regularly work 12- or 14-hour days and sometimes even longer. My electoral staff are also impacted by the sittings. If something happens or a bill is contentious, my office gets flooded with calls, and sometimes they can be extremely abusive. That means the electoral office staff have to take more of those calls, as well as the usual electoral and constituent calls. This doesn't include the hundreds of calls my office gets from veterans.

Recommendation 4 in the Set the standard report is about individual leadership:

To strengthen individual leadership to ensure a safe and respectful work environment …

How can I ensure a safe environment when I don't have enough staff? How can I ensure a safe environment when my staff are often sleep deprived? Doctors will tell you that not having enough sleep impacts your health and wellbeing. If this government really wants to set the standard then giving the crossbench members and senators the staff we need is critical not just for us but for their own wellbeing. Is showing the crossbench and our staff respect really that hard? Seriously!

Question agreed to.