Australian parliament workplace culture under microscope
Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner is urging people to come forward with their experiences of working in federal parliament.
People who have worked in the Australian parliament are being urged to share their stories for a new probe, prompted by the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.
Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is leading the workplace culture review, which aims to prevent and improve the handling of sexual harassment and bullying in the parliament.
Former young Liberal staffer Ms Higgins broke her silence in February, claiming she had been raped by a colleague in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’s office in March 2019.
“My message for everybody who has worked in parliament is that you will have had, I hope, some good experiences and you may have had some bad experiences,” Ms Jenkins told ABC RN.
“You might have been in the position of being someone who’s behaved inappropriately, you also may be someone who has had their career derailed by inappropriate behaviour.
“We know the quality of our work will only be at its best if we hear lots of those experiences.”
Ms Jenkins said the inquiry was a place where people could feel confident that their experience would make a real difference.
“People will be fearful and we are absolutely aware of that,” she said.
“Our main priority is making sure that this is kept confidential but also people are safe.”
The workplace culture review cannot use people’s experiences without their full consent.
Mechanisms are also in place if people, part way through, decide they don’t want to continue to participate.
If a criminal act is reported to the inquiry, the submitter will be supported and will decide how they want to proceed.
The final report will not have any identifying information but instead cover issues and themes, according to Ms Jenkins.
“Our process is not investigating individual cases, that is very clear to everyone,” she said.
“You will not be able to read it and identify people or experiences.”
Ms Jenkins said the case against US film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 started a global conversation.
She said she believed leaders were taking this issue seriously, adding that lots of industries are working to improve their cultures.
“The stories that we have heard in parliament, I have heard in other workplaces,” Ms Jenkins said.
“The Australian community has just had enough and said we want all our workplaces to be safe.”
The inquiry on Thursday began accepting submissions via the Human Rights Commission website.
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