Labor’s Respect At Work sexual harassment reforms clear first hurdle

PM Anthony Albanese’s promised reforms of Australia’s sexual harassment laws have cleared their first hurdle.

New laws which would make Australian bosses responsible for taking steps to prevent sexual harassment have cleared their first hurdle.

Labor’s Bill to implement the “unfinished” reforms to Australia’s sexual harassment laws recommended in the 2020 Respect@Work report passed through the House of Representatives without division on Monday.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ major review made 55 recommendations, some of which were legislated by the former Coalition government.

The opposition and several crossbench MPs attempted to amend Labor’s Bill on Monday but these efforts weren’t successful.

The legislation will now go to the Senate where Labor hopes it will pass and become law by the end of the year.

Labor doesn’t have a majority in the upper house, meaning the Albanese government will need to win over the Greens and at least one crossbencher if it fails to clinch Coalition support.

Anthony Albanese promised to enact all of the report’s recommendations if he became prime minister. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Introducing the Bill to parliament on Monday morning, Mr Albanese criticised the Morrison government for not enacting all of the recommendations.

“And nothing exemplified the former Government’s failure as clearly as its response to the women’s March for Justice,” the Prime Minister said, referring to last year’s protest, which Scott Morrison didn’t attend.

Mr Albanese condemned the former prime minister for saying similar rallies in other countries were “met with bullets”.

Mr Albanese vowed to implement the Respect@Work report’s recommendations in full if elected.

He said on Monday Labor’s laws would place a positive duty on employers to take “reasonable and proportionate” measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation “as far as possible”.

He said the physical and mental consequences of sexual harassment cost the Australian economy nearly $4bn year.

Critics of Labor’s Bill have raised concerns it would make it harder for complainants to pursue civil claims because they face the risk of having to pay their employer’s legal costs if they are unsuccessful.

Speaking in parliament on Monday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus defended the legislation’s costs model.

“The costs model in the bill seeks to strike a balance when it comes to discrimination matters generally, and I accept that reasonable minds may differ on whether the bill strikes that balance appropriately,” Mr Dreyfus said.

The Coalition introduced some recommendations stemming from the Respect@Work report, which Mr Morrison called a “game changer” upon its release.

Mr Morrison said at the time his government accepted all 55 recommendations in principle, in part or in full.

But the Coalition voted against Labor’s amendments to introduce a positive duty on employers to eliminate sexual harassment, which was one of Commissioner Jenkins’ recommendations.