Shannon Deery: Will Fowles saga a reminder that Victorian parliament could be doing more to protect employees
An MP accused of the sexual assault of a colleague will be free to take his seat on Tuesday — a reminder that the Victorian parliament could be doing so much more to protect its employees.
Opinion
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In the latest Will Fowles affair we are again reminded that the Victorian parliament could be doing so much more to protect its employees.
When state parliament resumes on Tuesday, an MP accused of the sexual assault of a colleague will be free to take his seat as a fresh independent.
Almost two weeks since the alleged assault, exactly what former Labor backbencher Will Fowles is accused of doing remains a mystery.
We know only that it was serious enough for Premier Daniel Andrews to demand his resignation from the party, while Fowles rejects any claim he assaulted anyone.
Whether his departure was warranted or not is hard to assess, but the Premier sent a politically strong message, even if his action lacked due and proper process.
Fowles was essentially booted from Labor after a two-day investigation by the Premier’s private office.
As yet, a formal complaint has not been made, only a referral by the government to Victoria Police. But without a proper complaint, there can be no proper investigation.
It’s created a state of limbo for Fowles, his alleged victim, other MPs and the parliament as a whole.
Perhaps we don’t need to know the details; there are privacy concerns around the alleged victim that must be paramount.
But those working at Parliament House deserve to know the matter has been properly investigated and dealt with. Has a sexual assault occurred on parliament grounds? What is being done to safeguard employees?
And yet, neither the presiding officers or the parliament, or the Department of Premier and Cabinet, have launched formal independent inquiries.
During the last parliament multiple MPs sounded the alarm on what they said was worrying behaviour in the halls of parliament.
Several female MPs reported they had been victims to unwanted touching, invitations of a sexual nature and crude comments.
Others said they had experienced inappropriate sexual comments in the parliament and felt personally intimidated there because of their gender.
Several also raised concerns about insufficient mechanisms to deal with sexual misconduct, bullying or harassment by MPs.
Accusations of sexual harassment should be taken seriously. But inside the corridors of parliament, where the power dynamics between MPs and staff easily fuel such behaviour, victims say not enough is being done.
Former Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell fought for the parliament to acknowledge the important role it could play as an exemplar of best practice in the prevention of and response to bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in workplaces. She lamented the “perception, and sometimes the sad reality, of bullying and harassment being prevalent within the parliamentary workplace”.
And yet her proposed inquiry into sexual harassment and bullying within parliament failed to get off the ground because of a legal quirk.
It’s not as though the parliament is powerless.
To ignore the Fowles issue is to do so wilfully.
In October 2021 a secret investigation into former Liberal MP Neale Burgess began after claims he behaved inappropriately.
During the investigation Burgess was banned from entering parliament and, although denying any wrongdoing, he did not recontest election in 2022.
If the same procedure was followed here, Fowles would be blocked from taking his seat in parliament this week.
Parliamentary sources say the key difference is that in the Burgess matter a formal complaint was lodged with parliament.
It is not unusual for sexual assaults or harassment to go unreported. A Department of Premier and Cabinet survey last year found 92 per cent of staff who experienced sexual harassment did not submit formal complaints.
Half of those said: “I believed there would be negative consequences for my career”.
Of the 2 per cent of staff who reported having been sexually harassed, 62 per cent said it involved inappropriate comments. More than one in 10 said it involved inappropriate contact.
While the alleged victim may make no formal complaint in the Fowles matter, the Premier’s office did forward the allegations to police.
Liberal in exile Moira Deeming has endured more public scrutiny for her decision to attend a lawful rally. She even endured a parliamentary investigation to determine whether she had breached security protocols.
In 2021 the Andrews government announced a ministerial task force on workplace sexual harassment. It made 26 recommendations to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, to support workers in reporting it and to raise awareness in workplaces across Victoria.
Almost two weeks on from the alleged Fowles incident there remains an uncomfortable, and unsatisfactory, silence.
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Originally published as Shannon Deery: Will Fowles saga a reminder that Victorian parliament could be doing more to protect employees
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