Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

COKER () (): The Albanese government has committed to implementing all 55 recommendations of the 2020 Respect@Work: sexual harassment national inquiry report as a matter of priority. This bill is the most significant step in fulfilling that commitment. The bill implements all but one of the remaining legislative recommendations from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins' groundbreaking Respect@Work report. The one remaining recommendation is being progressed separately by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

Once again I find myself standing here in this place, proudly speaking to a significant piece of reform legislation from the Albanese government. We are taking it forward, unlike the previous Morrison government, which ducked its responsibility. The Morrison government's response to this report was not only slow; it only happened following significant public pressure. It was half hearted, and, ultimately, it failed to act. The Respect@Work report is the most significant of its kind, yet the Morrison government failed to give it the respect it deserved. The Morrison government used weasel words such as 'agreed in part', 'agreed in principle' or 'noted' in response to the report's recommendations. By contrast, the Albanese Labor government is fully implementing all recommendations of the report and helping to assure Australians are safe from discrimination and harassment at work.

As the mother of two young women and as someone who has fought hard for this legislation, I am so proud that I am standing here today. Chief amongst the reforms that the bill introduces is a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate workplace sexual harassment, victimisation and sex discrimination. It also gives the Australian Human Rights Commissioner the power to enforce that duty.

The cultural shift embedded within this bill, towards governments and employers shouldering most of the burden that individuals have suffered in the workplace, is a no-brainer. Employers now have to consider sexual harassment in the workplace as both an employment and discrimination issue and a workplace health and safety issue. The Respect@Work report was an absolute watershed moment in acknowledging the impact of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces and is setting out a clear path for reform. I applaud the work of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and of the commission more generally in producing the Respect@Work report.

The commission received 460 submissions from government agencies, business groups, community bodies and, above all, victims. From September 2018 to February 2019, the commission conducted 60 consultations as part of the inquiry, with more than 600 individuals participating in all capital cities and some regional locations across Australia. The Respect@Work report is a solidly based document. I know that Commissioner Jenkins and the commission have done significant work since the report was published to implement its recommendations, including through the Respect@Work Council.

In the report, Commissioner Jenkins described sexual harassment as endemic in Australia. The report drew on 2018 survey data that found 33 per cent of people who had been in the workforce in the previous five years reported experiences of sexual harassment—39 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men. That is something we should not accept. The report highlighted that those who are most at risk are those who experience other forms of vulnerability and disadvantage. It especially mentioned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people and people from ethnic, religious and racial minority groups. That is also something we should not accept. These groups are more likely to experience 'intersecting' forms of discrimination where sexual harassment reinforces a disproportionate 'burden' that also contributes to making harassment and violence harder to report. Those who experience harassment, discrimination and violence also carry the financial, career and health costs of that oppression, often without meaningful support or intervention tailored to their needs and circumstances.

Gender inequality is a key driver of sexual harassment in the workplace, which is borne out by the disproportionate impact this behaviour has on women. The Respect@Work report's recommendations proposed a whole new approach spanning government, employers and the community. The aim is to better prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace and provide leadership and innovation in addressing this complex and difficult issue. Commissioner Jenkins said:

The right of workers to be free from sexual harassment is a human right, a workplace right and a safety right. This legislative reform will create a regulatory environment in Australia that is key to the realisation of that right for all Australian workers.

It must be said that this bill would not have happened without the individuals and organisations that contributed their stories, their advocacy and their expertise to inform the Respect@Work report. I commend all those organisations, but especially those brave people who told their stories.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 11:46 to 11:57

This bill would not have happened without the individuals and organisations who contributed their stories, their advocacy and their expertise to inform the Respect@Work report. I commend those organisations and especially the brave people who told their stories and shared their personal experiences. The report's recommendations apply across federal, state and territory governments, independent government agencies, the private sector and the community more broadly. All are driven by the same purpose: to put an end to sexual harassment and make Australian workplaces safe for all.

The broad objectives of this legislation have been welcomed across sectors. In preparing this bill there was extensive consultation, including with the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, Safe Work Australia and the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities. I also include in this group the Australian Council of Trade Unions and employer groups, such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, along with human rights and advocacy organisations, community legal centres, legal practitioners and academics. They all had something important to say, and we have acknowledged that.

The government are moving decisively to implement the outstanding legislation recommendations because we know that these changes will have an immediate and lasting impact and they will save lives. They will see new cultural norms and preventative efforts and are essential in eliminating workplace sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation, which often lead to women feeling left behind and isolated.

This suite of reforms is critical to ensuring safer, respectful and more equitable workplaces for all Australians. The bill significantly strengthens and clarifies the legal and regulative frameworks around sexual harassment in Australia. In addition to introducing a positive duty by the employer, the bill provides the commission with the power to assess and enforce compliance.

The bill inserts a new provision in the Sex Discrimination Act to prohibit conduct that subjects another person to a workplace environment that is 'hostile on the ground of sex', responding to a specific recommendation of the Respect@Work report. The report found that sexual harassment may occur where a workplace environment is sexually charged or hostile, even if the specific conduct is not directed at a particular person—conduct such as displaying obscene or pornographic materials, general sexual banter, innuendo or offensive jokes. These are things I have experienced in my own workplace history. Hopefully, these things will now no longer occur. All of these can result in people of one sex feeling unwelcome or excluded by the general environment. The existence of these environments can increase the risk of people experiencing other forms of unlawful discrimination, such as sexual harassment.

In light of this legislation, employers who are not already doing so should be reflecting on their workplace's culture and the behaviour of employees and senior leaders. We expect that. We expect that now of our senior leaders and our employers.

Open forms of sexual harassment are easily identifiable, but most subtle sexual harassment, such as crude language or sexist remarks, often goes unnoticed. The Sex Discrimination Commissioner in the Respect@Work report called on all employers to join her in creating safe, gender-equal and inclusive workplaces, no matter their industry or size. She told them that this required transparency, accountability and leadership. It would also require a shift from the current reactive model to one that requires positive action from employers. She reminded employers that ultimately a safe, harassment-free workplace is also a productive workplace.

Now is the time for all employers—government and private entities—to assess whether there is any aspect of their current culture that needs to change. Training and educating workers is an important tool to preventing sexual harassment. That means training workers at all levels of an organisation and in a form that all workers can understand.

Following the passing of this bill—hopefully—employers can anticipate receiving guidelines from the Australian Human Rights Commission which will assist them to comply with the proposed new positive duty requirements. Responsibility for implementing the Respect@Work report is shared between many, including the Australian government, independent government agencies, state and territory governments and the private sector.

The previous Morrison government failed to act. It's now up to members of this parliament to use their voice to stand up for women, for those who are being harassed in the workplace and for others who have been subjected to discrimination and to say that enough is enough. This is a groundbreaking bill. It leads on from this morning—today is a great day in the chamber—when we introduced the secure jobs, better pay legislation, which will also go further to closing the gender pay gap and to making sure that all people are treated equally and have equal opportunity in the workplace to earn an income and feel safe and secure in the workplace.

In delivering on the Albanese government's commitment to implement all the recommendations of the Respect@Work report we are doing groundbreaking work that is going to have long-term implications. I'm very proud to be part of a government that is doing so. I do hope to be celebrating the successful passing of this legislation with the women of my electorate and across our nation very soon.

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