ALP finds 11 flaws in harassment policy

Anthony Albanese’s top advisers have been looking into a raft of issues that Labor needs to address in order to combat sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Anthony Albanese’s top advisers have been looking into a raft of ­issues — including “political tribalism”, “power imbalances” and “impact on career trajectory” — that Labor needs to address in order to combat sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

The committee, led by the Labor leader’s chief of staff Tim Gartrell, identified 11 ­issues that had left staff unable or unwilling to report these issues, minutes of a July 2020 meeting show.

Labor’s working group on sexual harassment policy first met on July 6 that year and identified “uncertainty around what to do and who to speak to”, “small offices” and a “lack of training of those who deal with complaints”.

“Feeding of the rumour mill above the need to respect the complaints confidence (and a) desire to protect the boss and the party” were also identified as issues, the minutes show.

Mr Albanese on Wednesday indicated the party was in the process of updating its sexual harassment policy after considerable consultation over the summer.

“What I’ve done is ensure that processes are put in place, that after extensive consultation with former and current staff members, that process has been concluded,” he said.

“It goes to the ALP National Executive next Friday where it will be adopted. And that goes to, by the way, not just the parliament but processes within the organisation as a whole. This is a problem that exists in society.”

Mr Gartrell was last year tasked with seeking external advice from “trusted sources” — including late Hawke-era minister Susan Ryan and Sydney barrister Chris Ron­alds — as part of the consultation process.

The working group convened shortly after the departure of a senior adviser working for Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, after he was accused by a female member of the party of serious misconduct.

The working group minutes also identify issues including a lack of internal human resources functions within the party as well as the nature of parliamentary work. “After hours work/social setting/alcohol can contribute to creation of unsafe environment,” they say.

A leaked draft of Labor’s sexual harassment prevention policy, obtained by The Australian, notes: “Sexual harassment can be a form of discrimination and can have ­serious consequences for individuals and work teams. It can expose the ALP to disputes and litigation.”

The policy, which will be adopted by the party’s executive next Friday, proposes a new register to track who has received training and the encouragement, but not enforcement, of “active bystander intervention” to prevent or stop sexual harassment.

The draft policy also indicates the ALP will anonymously collect statistics and data to determine the effectiveness of the new procedure and make any changes needed.

“Alleged misconduct will be investigated by the party and a fair process used to determine an outcome. In the case of any investi­gation process, this includes: principles of natural justice; transparency and fairness of the procedure; taking a complaint seriously and acting on it quickly; maintaining confidentiality,” the policy says. “Supervisors, managers and those responsible for dealing with sexual harassment cases will report on compliance with this policy, including the number of incidents, how they were dealt with, and any recommendations made.”

A separate confidential submission made to Labor’s 2019 election review, overseen by former Gillard government minister Craig Emerson and former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill, reads: “I don’t believe people at CHQ, or ALP campaigners more broadly, were actually familiar with the current Sexual Harassment and Bullying Policy. This has been the case on every campaign I have worked on.

“The sexual harassment briefing during the campaign was just one long speech read word-by-word off a piece of paper.

“ The person reading the script was someone external (not in campaign leadership), and the majority of the room stopped paying attention as the script went on.”

The submission recommended more women in positions of leadership and a nominated woman in each office available to be ­approached with complaints.

“There should be a formal effort made to look after the career progression of women who experience sexual harassment or bullying on campaigns,” it reads.