Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Shocking allegations in 2019 led to the Set the standard report and the development of the first ever code of conduct for parliamentarians. In February, you led the chamber's endorsement of the behaviour standards and codes for all Commonwealth workplaces, but the behaviours of the past week show we have a long way to go to change the culture of this place. Will the Prime Minister commit to expediting the due date for the full implementation and enforcement of the behaviour standards and code?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney for her question, and for her constructive contribution on this and other issues in this chamber as a new member. The government is committed to implementing all 28 recommendations from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins's review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. Parliament House will never be a typical workplace, but it must be a safe workplace, a respectful workplace, a workplace that lives up to the ideals that our democracy is built on: equality, fairness, decency and respect for all. It must also be a workplace worthy of the nation and the people we are called here to serve.

Earlier this year, the parliament endorsed new draft codes of conduct. This was a historic moment, and we're working across the parliament to establish the enforcement of the codes as a priority. All parliamentarians and staff should already be complying with those codes of conduct and the new behaviour standards for everyone who works in parliament. Behaviour that would not be accepted in workplaces across the country should certainly not be accepted here in this parliament. To help drive cultural change, we expect to have a keystone reform of the Jenkins report—an independent statutory HR agency—up and running from October this year, with cooperation from across the parliament. We're also working to establish an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission and to implement recommendations of the review of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act as quickly as possible.

I say to the member, with regard to timing—we will do it as soon as we can, but we want to make sure that we get it right and we also want to make sure that we have the full input of people across the parliament, and ownership of people across the parliament. These reforms do require that cooperation, and we continue to work, through the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, to secure this cooperation. We're also prioritising close consultation with staff as we implement these reforms. We know that staff can be vulnerable in these workplaces, and it's critical that we make sure that these reforms work in the interests of our staff. The government is committed to progressing these essential reforms and to getting them right. I look forward to working with the member for North Sydney and other members and senators to make sure we do just that.