The age of the dinosaur ended a long time ago, writes Luba Grigorovitch

THERE are men in the Labor movement who need to accept the age of the dinosaur passed a long time ago, writes Luba Grigorovitch.

Liberal member Julia Banks recently quit parliament. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

IN recent weeks, we have witnessed the effects of an ugly culture of bullying in the federal Liberal Party, which resulted in the resignations of a number of women MPs.

Julia Banks and Ann Sudmalis have quit parliament after Liberal men allegedly used intimidation and threats to get women MPs to change their votes during the Turnbull/Dutton/Morrison leadership contest.

Threats, harassment and intimidation have no place in a political party, just as they have no place at work or in the home.

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But the Liberal Party is not the only political party to have male dinosaurs gnashing their teeth and using thinly disguised violence to get their own way. We still have these men in the Labor Party, too.

There are not quite so many since we started our great project to get more women into parliament. Twenty years ago, fed up with cosy deals between blokes for safe seats and a culture of whatever it takes to guarantee jobs for the boys, Labor women pushed back against the machismo culture.

Jane Garrett. Picture: David Caird

They demanded and secured affirmative action for women, got targets for female candidates of 35, 40 and finally 50 per cent. With more women at the table, slowly the culture began to change.

Incrementally, as Labor women achieved critical mass, the dinosaurs were replaced and debates started opening up on important issues that mattered to women, as well as men.

But in some places, the dinosaurs live on — hoping to stave off the rise of women’s leadership in the party, in their unions and in their factions.

Without Labor’s commitment to getting more women into parliament, the Royal Commission into Family Violence would be unthinkable, as would the record investment of $2.6 billion over four years by the Andrews Government.

This government has delivered a range of reforms making women safer at home and in the street. Jane Garrett is one of the MPs deeply committed to women’s equality, taking an interest during her role as emergency services minister in seeing more females in emergency services, including the fire services industry.

While day-to-day, we fight tooth and nail against the bullies of the workplace, members of my union know first-hand how commonly workplace leaders and the managerial elite will try to apply different standards to different groups within the workplace.

No industry is without its challenges, and our male-dominated transport industry has also had to work hard to address cultural issues of the past. We have provided the forums to talk about those issues, provided representation and not taken a backwards step in taking incidents seriously.

These are standards we hold for every member of all genders and of all walks of life. When our members pay their dues to be part of something bigger, they deserve access to fair representation at work, to know we always have their backs and to be part of our intergenerational struggle that will always demand a fairer go.

The Andrews Government has worked hard to set the ball rolling and support those subjected to such anti-social behaviour. It has provided the resources and legislation to form both foundation and framework to pave the way for this critical cultural change.

As leaders of the trade union movement, we, too, have a duty to ensure such toxic behaviour is no given the oxygen on which to thrive.

It’s time for change.

The state government’s family violence campaign demands that we Respect Women and Call it Out. I’m proud to have stood with a number of union leaders — mostly men — calling out bullying behaviour of late, for what it is.

We won’t stand by and let someone so out of step with the union movement’s commitment to gender equality and Daniel Andrews’ leadership on violence against women attempt to intimidate Labor women out of their jobs. Or, for that matter, bring down a government.

This is not a mere disagreement between comrades — it’s about something much more fundamental. It’s about how we treat women — whether in the workplace or parliament.

Luba Grigorovitch is the Victorian secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.