Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We must defend and strengthen our institutions, and we must treat our parliament with more respect.

Unacceptable workplace practices are the responsibility of us all to identify, to stop it, to fix it.

That's not my quote; that actually comes from the former foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop. It is a statement that came from her not long after she left her role as minister in the coalition government. And I'll add another quote from Julie Bishop:

I've seen and witnessed some appalling behaviour that in a law firm I would never have accepted, but in parliament, it's the norm.

In a magazine article she refers to:

… a much broader debate about workplace culture. This includes allegations of bullying, harassment and coercion and the unequal treatment of women …

Members opposite who've contributed in this last half hour have missed the point completely. The rate of growth of the economy, jobs, tax reform for millions of Australians—everyone wants to see a better life for all Australians. But, if the behaviour that is reflected in this Senate and in the House of Representatives were reflected out there in the broader Australian community, it would be totally unacceptable. The most senior person in the previous Prime Minister's cabinet said exactly that, yet today my question to the foreign affairs minister couldn't be answered.

It is important that we uphold the highest values in the way women in particular are treated in the parliament. Our contribution matters, and we should be able to make it without fear of retribution, without fear of being humiliated, without fear of thinking differently to others. I would like to believe that that is at the core of the values of our country in respecting each other. It is important that we debate all sorts of issues, but we must have fundamental ground rules about the way we relate to each other. We've seen the member for Chisholm drawing her line in the sand and resigning from the Liberal Party because of the way women are treated. The member for Chisholm said in her speech yesterday that, when good women call out or are subjected to bad behaviour, the reprisals and commentary portray them as being bad. It certainly didn't take long for her former colleagues to do exactly that. It didn't take long for them to reinforce the message that the coalition government is hostile to women, calling points of order today instead of addressing the question, and choosing to hide behind questions of procedure rather than address questions about why women in the coalition government are concerned and constrained by fears of reprisal and retribution if they speak out. Bullying and intimidation—it is behaviour out of step with our country. It is behaviour that should not be tolerated here in the parliament.

It's ironic that the timing of the former Liberal, now Independent, member for Chisholm's resignation came on the same day that the new Labor government in Victoria unveiled a 50 per cent female cabinet. In my home in the Northern Territory, women make up the majority in cabinet. Labor is not a political boys club. We are certainly a better party and we reject bullying of any kind. As Senator Wong said today, we will not tolerate sexist and abusive behaviour. We will not tolerate it in the Senate and we will not tolerate it anywhere. The Senate itself will not be respected if the behaviours exhibited in here demean it. That goes not only to rules but also to standards and expectations.

Question agreed to.