MPs behaving badly is the ugly public face of democracy

The unedifying, boorish and bullying behaviour of MPs during question time in the federal parliament would lead to dismissal in the private sector or the professional public service.

Yet, politicians blithely persist with conduct unbecoming and, with their rowdy macho behaviour and allegations of sexual harassment, the federal parliament now sits exposed as a workplace culture that baulks at or covers up the very behaviour it professes to abhor.

Anthony Albanese came to power promising to reform unparliamentary behaviour. But the Herald has now exclusively revealed the hollowness of that promise with data showing the 118 ejections from question time since mid-2022 is only 11 fewer than the 129 occasions MPs were kicked out in the first 18 months of the previous Morrison government.

And while the roll call of ejections illustrates the parliament is far from becoming more respectful under Albanese, plans to introduce an independent commission to police parliamentary standards, a Labor commitment, have been delayed again.

An independent review of workplace culture at Parliament House, Set the Standard, in 2021 by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, found four out of five people working in Commonwealth parliamentary offices had personally experienced sexual harassment. One of her key recommendations was to establish an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission, which would have the power to investigate complaints of misconduct and impose sanctions on politicians.

Her recommendations, including a new code of conduct, were enthusiastically embraced by the parliament. Yet, the men and women charged with legislating to make Australian workplaces safer, ludicrously, seem unable to get their own house in order.

The commission was originally expected to be up and running by the end of 2023, but Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher confirmed it would not be established until at least October this year.

The continuing delay is regrettable. The country does indeed need to extract better value from its billion-dollar capital investment in Canberra. But the awkwardness of the Australian political system, with its adversarial focus, makes this a tough ask. Disorder in the house has been historic. The only common factor is the complaints overwhelmingly come from the opposition.

Speakers tend to be remarkably one-eyed. Standing orders leave too much room for the Speaker’s discretion. Dorothy Dixers at question time, and lengthy answers written by the same staffers who drafted them, have resulted in fewer opportunities for opposition questions.

The overwhelming majority of those ejected from the House of Representatives in the current session of parliament – 83 per cent – were from the opposition, including two male MPs who were booted out 15 times each. However, the opposition is refusing to resile from its tactics on the ground that the government kept refusing to answer questions.

It is standard opposition justification for unruliness starting from 1938 when Labor leader John Curtin lamented “parliament is a sounding board for federal cabinet”. In the years since, the so-called “theatre of parliament” has turned into a place for rugged debate, one where governments will ensure their writ runs and the opposition of the day retreats to abuse.

But it is now time for miscreants to pull in their horns. Voters have grown tired of the endless futile negativity that passes for political debate and have been let down by the delay in reforms. To be sure, robust, passionate engagement about ideas, values and practical solutions to public issues and needs is not only valid but crucial. Surely, this public face of democracy is not beyond orderly, agreed reform.

The current unruly myopic conduct also carries a warning: MPs do hold positions of public trust, and they are role models and exemplars and if lawmakers set poor standards, others feel less constrained about moral and legal transgression.

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