‘They’re not taking the concerns of women seriously’: Brittany Higgins slams Crisafulli government

Sexual assault victims advocate Brittany Higgins has taken aim at the Queensland government over its latest delay to workplace safety law reform, as it seeks further consultation.

Higgins accused the Crisafulli government of not taking the concerns of women in its state seriously after it pushed back legislation, part of broader changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act.

The Respect at Work reforms were passed by the previous state Labor government, and were set to introduce a legal obligation on the public and private sectors to do all they could to eliminate discrimination and harassment.

Former federal political staffer Brittany Higgins remains a vocal advocate for reform on sexual harassment policy within the workplace.Credit: Steven Siewert

But Attorney-General Deb Frecklington last week confirmed the implementation of the laws would be paused to allow more consultation and policy work.

The laws were scheduled to start in July.

In a statement, Higgins, a former federal Liberal political staffer, said the Queensland government had “indefinitely paused the ‘positive duty’ workplace sexual harassment laws that were set to come into effect this year”.

“There has been extensive community consultation over the years,” she said.

Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the laws would be paused to allow more consultation and policy work.Credit: Jamila Filippone

“Pausing this legislation indefinitely, without any clear explanation, just further proves that the state government isn’t taking the concerns of the women in their state seriously.

“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Every day the Crisafulli government delays taking action, more Queenslanders face risk at work.”

In response to Higgins’ comments, Frecklington said reforming discrimination law was a complex issue, and the pause followed serious concerns raised by the Justice Department.

She said the government was giving careful consideration to the next steps to ensure the laws were fit for purpose, accusing Labor of rushing to make major changes in their dying days.

After the announcement of the delay, Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall said there had already been extensive consultations undertaken on the anti-discrimination reforms.

This included several inquiries and reviews by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, and two prior inquiries by the parliamentary Legal Affairs and Safety Committee, McDougall said.

McDougall said he was very disappointed in the government’s decision, and said claims the reforms were rushed and not consultative enough was misleading.

In parliament on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Steven Miles asked Premier David Crisafulli whether, in light of Higgins’ comments, he would reverse the decision to delay the laws indefinitely.

Crisafulli thanked Higgins for “speaking out on an issue that is important to all of us in this house”.

“Sexual harassment has no place in workplaces anywhere, at any time, and it must always be called out,” Crisafulli told parliament.

The premier said Labor’s legislation had been “condemned by a multitude of sources”, including unions and public servants, and had “unintended consequences” that warranted a broader review.

Higgins remains a vocal advocate for reform on sexual harassment policy within the workplace.

Her criticism of the Queensland government was one of her first public statements since last year, when Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found that on the balance of probabilities Bruce Lehrmann raped Higgins in the Parliament House office of their then-boss, Liberal senator Linda Reynolds.

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