Recent reports of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in our Parliament have justly shocked the nation, and highlighted the need for urgent reform, to ensure that all parliamentary workplaces are safe and respectful places to work. Codes of conduct are a crucial part of that reform—they set clear and consistent standards of behaviour, which in turn helps hold everyone to account.
Australia stands in stark contrast to comparable democracies, many of whom have had codes of conduct in their parliaments for many years. The committee examined the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canadian codes as well as those in each state and territory of Australia.
The Australian Parliament has long sought to address the issue of codes of conduct. Indeed, our Parliament has been considering codes for almost half a century. In 1975, a Report on Declaration of Interests noted that a meaningful code of conduct should exist in the Australian Parliament. In 1993, 2008, 2011, and 2012 the Australian Parliament again tried and again failed to introduce codes of conduct.
The need, and the public expectation for codes of conduct, has grown over the years—and now the 47th Parliament has a unique opportunity to make good on past mistakes and leave a legacy for future generations of people who work here. With over 4000 people working in Parliament House on any given sitting day, and thousands more working across the country in electorate offices, supporting parliamentarians and constituents, all Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces must be safe and respectful places to work. We owe it to the Australian people, and importantly, we owe it to everyone who shared their story of not feeling safe in Parliamentary workplaces to get this done. We cannot waste this opportunity.
As the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, said in her Set the Standard report: ‘this is an opportunity for the leaders of our country to transform Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces to become what they already should be: workplaces where expected standards of behaviour are modelled, championed and enforced, where respectful behaviour is rewarded and in which any Australian, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, disability status or age, feels safe and welcome to contribute.’
The scope and responsibility of this committee was unusual—not only were we tasked with considering how codes should work, what other jurisdictions have done, the applicability and the enforcement of codes—we were also asked to draft codes of conduct for parliamentarians, parliamentarian’s staff and parliamentary workplaces to ensure safe and respectful behaviour.
The terms of reference for this committee were focussed on the immediate need for behavioural standards. The committee acknowledges that there is also a need to deal with issues of integrity and ethical obligations; and recommends that this issue is considered in the next review of the codes of conduct.
With a focus on standards of behaviour the committee has developed:
•Behaviour Standards for Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces;
•Behaviour Codes for Parliamentarians; and
•Behaviour Codes for Parliamentarian’s staff
The Behaviour Standards for Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces set clear guidelines on how we must behave towards each other, with a focus on respectful behaviour, encouraging diverse perspectives and recognising the power and influence we have, ensuring not to abuse it. They also set clear expectations of upholding laws that support safe and respectful workplaces— including laws regarding bullying, harassment, sexual harassment or assault and discrimination in any form. The Behaviour Standards make it clear that this behaviour will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored.
The committee heard from many witnesses who made it clear that without a confidential, independent and serious investigative body with an effective sanctions regime, these codes will not be able to drive the long term cultural change that is needed.
The committee therefore strongly supports the recommendation to establish an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission as proposed in the Set the Standard report, along with legislating a range of sanctions, including, but not limited to, those proposed in the report. The committee has also put forward recommendations that guidance material and training accompany the new codes. This is crucial to ensuring that the codes become part of everyday practice, setting clear standards of behaviour in all Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces.
While the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission is being established, we have recommended that the Parliament endorses the codes as outlined in this report.
I would like to thank the secretariat, submitters, and witnesses for their invaluable contributions to this important work. I commend the courage and strength of every witness who shared their insights and experience with the committee.
I want to also pay tribute to my Deputy Chair, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne and all committee members for their hard work, co-operation, and dedication. That the committee was able to reach a consensus should give this Parliament every confidence to move forward with these recommendations. I implore the Australian Parliament to take this opportunity to set in place what previous Parliaments have failed to do, and adopt these codes of conduct to help shape a safe and respectful workplace for all those who work in Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces across our nation.
Chair