Sex harasser MPs face suspension and docked salary after harrowing report

Federal parliamentarians who sexually harass staff could have their salaries withheld and be suspended from Parliament after a landmark report found a third of parliamentary staff surveyed had been victims of harassment.

The harrowing report heard from multiple women who had been sexually assaulted in Parliament House but felt powerless to complain. The review was commissioned after former government staffer Brittany Higgins went public with allegations that she was raped by a colleague in a ministerial office.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with the Jenkins review.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ report called for a new code of conduct for federal MPs and their staff, enforced by an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission with the powers to punish those who breached it.

Her report, Set the Standard, found Parliament had developed a “boys’ club” culture with significant power imbalances, gender inequality, a lack of accountability and a high pressure win-at-all-costs environment. It makes 28 recommendations.

“Women we spoke to told us they felt lucky when they had not directly experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault,” Ms Jenkins said.

“I was shocked at how the young workers who perhaps arrive really positive and enthusiastic and feeling privileged to work there, how quickly they become in an environment where this bullying and harassment is normalised.

“The sexism, the sexual harassment, the drinking, the ‘work hard, play hard’ kind of culture has been around for a long time.”

One in three people who responded to the review of the parliamentary workplace culture said they had been sexually harassed and slightly more reported being bullied. This was consistent with the national levels in the Respect@Work report on workplace sexual harassment.

However, there was also a “worrying low” level of reporting of incidents, with only 11 per cent saying they had made a complaint. A quarter of those who said they were harassed said it was done by a parliamentarian. And nearly two-thirds of female politicians reported having been sexually harassed, a statistic that shocked Ms Jenkins.

The report recommends the creation of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to investigate complaints and impose sanctions on MPs and staff, and an Office of Parliamentarian Staffing and Culture, which would be a human resources department.

If a complaint is upheld, an MP could lose their right to have their travel paid for. For more serious complaints, Parliament could vote to withhold an MP’s salary, suspend them from Parliament and dock their communications budget to match compensation paid to a complainant.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked Ms Jenkins to investigate parliamentary culture in the days after Ms Higgins went public with allegations she was raped by colleague Bruce Lehrmann. Mr Lehrmann denies the allegation and the matter will go to trial in the ACT Supreme Court in mid-2022.

“Of course we do important things in this place... That should only stress upon us the need for those higher standards, not for lesser,” Mr Morrison said.

“We are employers. We have to be good employers. We have to ensure that we’ve got all the right supports to be good employers.”

The inquiry surveyed nearly a quarter of the people currently employed in parliamentary workplaces, interviewed 490 people, received 302 written submissions and held 11 focus groups. This covered current and former politicians, staffers, journalists, cleaners and Comcar drivers. Ms Jenkins thanked Ms Higgins for being the catalyst behind the review.

Mr Morrison also thanked Ms Higgins for speaking publicly about her alleged rape.

“Her voice has spoken for many, as this report shows, and the concerns and experiences that they have had in so many occupations working here in this building. So, I thank her for that,” he said.

Ms Higgins thanked the others who had shared their stories and hoped the review would inspire immediate action.

“I hope all sides of politics not only commit to but implement these recommendations in full,” she said.

The report contains many anonymous accounts of sexual harassment and bullying within parliamentary offices.

“I was sexually harassed multiple times, sexually assaulted, bullied and terrorised. And I was told that if I ever sought help or spoke about what happened to me my professional reputation and personal life would be destroyed,” one anonymous participant said.

There is broad support for the review’s recommendations, particularly the code of conduct, but all sides of Parliament recognise it will take time to implement.

Ms Jenkins said the recommendations could be implemented in six-monthly instalments, an approach she had taken with an eye on the timing of next year’s election, due by May. She wants them in place so the new Parliament “can be set up for success”.

On Tuesday, the government committed only to working with Labor, the Greens and other parties and independents on the way forward. It has also instructed the Prime Minister’s department to provide “every necessary resource and support” needed.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham later told ABC TV the government wanted to progress all the recommendations.

“We’re aware that it is cultural change that is required and while it is especially challenging, it should not be beyond us to achieve,” said Labor MP Sharon Claydon, who overhauled her party’s complaints handling processes.

Another former Coalition ministerial staffer, Sarah Meredith, was grateful to Ms Jenkins for making clear recommendations about what had to change but said the action taken would be the real test.

Ms Meredith left politics in 2016 after experiences that left her having a panic attack every time she had to enter Parliament House. She said if the kind of behaviour she experienced in politics happened in the businesses where she worked since, it would be taken seriously and dealt with immediately.

“I think lots of people will be watching and hoping that this moves quickly, that we don’t sit on it,” she said.

“It’s not just one side of politics, in my experience it’s the entire Parliament that needs to take this seriously.

“I hope that people will no longer walk past and ignore [bad behaviour], that people will speak up.”

Labor MPs have emphasised the need to consult staff on the recommendations and changes. The government is considering the best way to make sure this happens.

“This is their workplace and they deserve nothing less than a safe, respectful, and supportive environment,” shadow special minister of state Don Farrell said.

The Community and Public Sector Union, which represents staffers, hoped the Set the Standard report would be a watershed moment, but questioned how committed the government was given it hadn’t announced any funding.

“Talking about safe workplaces doesn’t just magically make them safe,” national secretary Melissa Donnelly said.

Other recommendations included developing clear standards around the use of alcohol, changes to staff hiring and firing practices, new rules and expectations around safety and respect in the chambers, the need for all parties need to push for gender parity to change the workplace culture and an annual public report on progress with quarterly tracking.

Liberal backbencher Katie Allen, who suggested a ban on alcohol, said responsible drinking guidelines would bring Parliament House in line with other workplaces in Australia.

Politicians and staffers have already been doing respectful workplaces training and a new serious incident response team has been set up to triage complaints about sexual harassment, assault and bullying in politicians’ offices.

National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line: 1800 737 732. Crisis support can be found at Lifeline: (13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467 and suicidecallbackservice.org.au) and beyondblue (1300 22 4636 and beyondblue.org.au).

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