The Labor government has introduced its bill to strengthen protections against sexual harassment in the workplace, having won the election promising to act on all the recommendations of the landmark Jenkins report, Respect@Work.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That's a welcome development, and if the bill passes Parliament as expected, it will introduce important measures recommended by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins. The most prominent are reforms requiring employers to be proactive in stopping sexual harassment in workplaces.
A day after the legislation was introduced, two developments in Parliament offered reminders that the nation's parliamentarians, and its public sector, must play a critical role in providing a model for other employers and workplaces in changing their behaviour.
One incident involved a sexist remark made by Labor senator Glenn Sterle during a Senate estimates hearing. Senator Sterle called Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie a "naughty little girl" in an outburst during the proceedings, initially refusing to withdraw the comment. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said he spoke to him about the remark, having been there to witness it.
Senator Sterle later said sorry. Nonetheless, it was an unacceptable comment. Unfortunately it is an all-too-familiar scenario for anyone who has worked in Parliament.
The second incident was a bizarre turn of events at Senate estimates, when the chief executive of a public sector agency that regulates pesticides and veterinary medicines admitted a senior staff member had resigned after an allegation that he had urinated on employees at a private function.
It will be the public service where the government can most directly shape the conduct it wants to see in the workforce.
This is an outlier in terms of conduct involving public servants and employees, to say the least. What was not raised at length in the hearing, and will be important to learn, is how the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority responded when staff raised the matter with the chief executive, Lisa Croft.
As strange as this alleged incident is, it draws attention to an important general point. The government will need to keep its attention on its public sector workplaces. Apart from the behaviour of its own parliamentarians and staffers, it will be the public service where it can best shape the conduct and standards it wants to see in the broader workforce.
READ MORE:
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has indicated she understands this, telling public servants in a recent speech that the recommendations of the Jenkins report will feature throughout the government's APS reform agenda.
"We cannot truly say we have reformed the APS without acknowledging the deep reforms necessary around how we treat our colleagues and how we all in turn expect to be treated, in the workplace," she said.
"The APS should set the standard in this regard for all workplaces across the country."
The public service has work to do, if it's to be a model for other workplaces.
Recorded complaints of sexual harassment more than doubled from 32 in 2019-20 to 78 in 2020-21.
More than half of the public servants who had seen harassment in their workplace told a survey they did not report it. Most said it was because they did not think any action would be taken.
If the government wants to show the public it's serious about creating respectful workplaces, it will have to make sure complaints about sexual harassment will be taken seriously in the public sector.
