Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) | Hansard source

Everyone has a right to go to work, and to feel safe while there. We are so lucky to work in this, the people's house—to serve the Australian people, to represent them. It is an honour and a privilege. So to know that for some individuals it has been a place of trauma is not just greatly concerning, it is a travesty and a failure. It is up to all of us to change the culture of this place. It is something I have spoken about before. It is not enough to create new bureaucratic structures. While a necessary precondition, and very much supported, it is not sufficient. We also need to ensure the culture of this place changes for the better. There is no doubt there have been horrible things happen in this place to staff and to elected representatives. These individuals should be listened to and believed. These individuals deserve action. Future parliamentarians and staff need action too. The ongoing health of our democracy requires such action.

Two young women, Ms Higgins and Ms Tame, bravely stood at the National Press Club last week to not only share their stories but fight for positive change. They deserve to be heard and they deserve to see the change they so fearlessly advocate for—not just for them, of course, but for all of those impacted, and for those who might otherwise be affected in the future. The issues raised in the Jenkins reviews, and the issues raised by Ms Higgins and Ms Tame, are not just 'women's issues'. They are societal issues and cultural issues that affect all Australians no matter their gender, sexual orientation, race, creed or political persuasion. This is a people issue, and it's up to each and every one of us in this place to take action.

To date, the discussions here have focused on the establishment of inquiries and independent structures. Last year, Labor committed to act on the deeply concerning findings of the Jenkins review. Labor will work to implement all 28 recommendations that came from that review. Labor are working to improve the culture of parliamentary workplaces and, in doing so, we are consulting closely with our staff on how best to do this. As a party, we have adopted a new code of conduct, complaints handling process, bullying and harassment policy and sexual harassment policy. Our staff are truly our priority in this process. This is their workplace, and they deserve nothing less than a safe and supportive work environment.

The fundamental issue here is the need for cultural change. If you're a staffer with political ambition, or even career ambition, you don't want to be seen to be the one rocking the boat. You don't want to do anything that will reflect badly on your boss, on your party. You don't want to let down the team. Our political culture mitigates against encouraging staff or MPs to come forward, to take action against perpetrators and to stand up and say some behaviour is, frankly, unacceptable. We need to ensure that staff who come forward with concerns will not be exiled or silenced; rather they will be believed and supported.

It is time survivors of harassment or assault of any kind are assured the powers that be are on their side. It is time that politicians of all persuasions, and the public, see transparency and action against inappropriate and unlawful behaviour as the greater political benefit rather than it being seen as preferable to cover it up. Our staff are already willing to put their careers on the line every three years when we, not them, encounter an election. It is only fair, therefore, that it is clear that fair work protections against unfair dismissal protect them too. Similarly, the least we can do is make clear that the Work Health and Safety Act applies to parliamentarians as employers as well.

MPs and their staff come from all different backgrounds. It's something we celebrate in our increasingly diverse parliament. Some have directly managed staff in their past careers, some have run small businesses or large businesses, and others have been part of organisations with large human resources departments. Some MPs come to this place with no prior training on how to manage staff. To date, there is no requirement to do so. The recommendation to ensure that parliamentarians are bound by the Work Health and Safety Act is so important because it will make sure ignorance is no longer an excuse. Legislating these two recommendations of the Jenkins review will help provide greater job security for staff and highlight to parliamentarians their obligations as employers. Legislating these two recommendations will bring the parliament in line with the Fair Work Act, the Work Health and Safety Act, the Age Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act. Not only is that something that, frankly, should have happened long ago but most people were, no doubt, dumbfounded to discover that they didn't already apply.

These are just the first steps in making sure our workplaces are safe and inclusive. Labor has a long-held commitment to making sure our parliamentary workplaces are safe and respectful for everyone. We are committed to gender equality, including the need to promote and support women's leadership in the parliament by parliamentarians and staff. I'm proud to be part of a caucus with almost 50 per cent women, and I'm proud that, after the next federal election, amazing Western Australian women like Labor candidates Tania Lawrence in Hasluck, Zaneta Mascarenhas in Swan and Tracey Roberts in Pearce will join us in this place, ensuring the next government of Australia is truly representative. It's women like Tania, Zaneta and Tracey who will also bring valuable life experience and insight to this place. It's through the promotion of strong women like them and like my WA colleagues the member for Brand, the member for Cowan, Senator Pratt and Senator Lines that we will ensure this parliament becomes better.

As I said, this is not a women's issue; it's a cultural issue. It's a people issue, and it's incumbent on all of us to fix it. There is still so much work to be done. It is important that we recognise that we should not be placing the burden of solving these problems and fixing this culture on the victims. It is incumbent on everyone here to make sure that there is actual real cultural change and that that must happen not by talking or taking unilateral action but by listening to those affected, those who have been abused and those who are in fear and making sure that their concerns are actually addressed. Labor will work with all parties to ensure the safety of everyone who works in this place. We'll ensure that our staff have the same rights as all Australians and that their workplace becomes the example to all Australian workplaces that it should be. I commend the bill to the House.

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