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

I welcome the opportunity to rise and speak on the Set the standard report on behalf of the Nationals. As the Nationals representative on the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, I want to thank my colleagues on that task force for coming together and working very constructively to implement the recommendations of the Set the standard report.

I also want to acknowledge the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service for what they have achieved to date. In a very short time frame they have established an office, processes and protocols and commenced an education campaign so that our staff and our parliamentarians understand what the role of the PWSS is and what they're doing. I have already heard good things from people who find comfort in knowing that there are now processes in place and a trusted, confidential complaints handling process that they can use if they need to.

It is an unfortunate truth that all too often it takes an unfortunate incident to actually ignite change. But change is what we all committed to, across party lines. The Nationals sincerely want to work on that change and change for the better for the people who work not just here but also in our electoral offices.

We often hear in this place about the need for family-friendly work hours, which is to be commended, but we also must acknowledge we work in a highly unusual environment where we have people coming together away from their families for lengthy periods of time. So, while nine to five might suit people who live in and around Canberra and its environs, some of us who are travelling hours to get here to work would rather spend the weekends at home with our families. That must be acknowledged.

The Nationals are committed—absolutely committed—to respectful workplaces. Indeed, my branch, the New South Wales Nationals, developed a very comprehensive code of conduct and complaints-handling process well over five years ago which we regularly review. A similar protocol has now been implemented at a federal level. We didn't wait for this place to tell our party that we needed codes of conduct. We were already there, and we continue to commitment to that.

We are also committed to diversity within the Nationals. Indeed, we were the first major political party to ever elect a woman, Mrs Shirley McKerrow OAM, as the federal president of a political party in Australia. Mrs McKerrow tells a wonderful anecdote about when she was invited to meet the Queen. She was introduced as the first female president of a political party, and the Queen said, 'Why do you think that would be?' Well, Mrs McKerrow tells the story that at the time she just sort of shrugged and nodded. Hindsight is a wonderful thing because, as the Queen moved down the line, Mrs McKerrow wished she had said, 'Because I'm probably the first one to put my hand up.' We were also the first federal political party to appoint a female federal director in Cecile Ferguson, who I know personally and admire greatly.

But diversity is not just about gender, not just about religion, not just about race. We must also acknowledge that we need to have diversity of socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, a diversity of life experience and professional skills. This focus must be nationwide and must apply at local and state levels as well as federally. We always hear about the Canberra bubble. We always hear the accusations of a generic type of person coming into politics—former staffers, former unionists, former lawyers—but it is not true and must not be true. So as we continue to pursue and implement the recommendations of the Set the standard report, I implore people to recognise that diversity is wide-ranging and we must respect all forms of diversity. I commend the report to the chamber.