The Labor government has moved to strengthen protections against sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, an election promise to act on the Respect@Work report of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
If passed as expected a new Bill will strengthen measures in this area, including a requirement for employers to be proactive in stopping sexual harassment and discrimination in workplaces.
Unfortunately, our parliament is not always the best role model.
This week, as the government was introducing the necessary legislation, WA Labor senator and former trade union organiser Glenn Sterle called his Nationals counterpart Bridget McKenzie a "naughty little girl" during Budget estimates.
Senator Sterle initially refused to apologise, and it took his party colleague, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, to convince him. Unfortunately, such behaviour is all too familiar in parliament.
Also on Tuesday we learned that a senor staff member of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority had resigned after allegedly urinating on other staff at a private function.
Hopefully this is an outlier in terms of behaviour.
What we don't know, but should know, is what the authority's CEO, Lisa Croft, did when told of the allegation. Public sector standards tend to shape those of the private sector.
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher apparently understands this, having told public servants the Respect@Work recommendations will inform the government's public service reforms.
Official summaries show that recorded complaints of sexual harassment in the federal public service more than doubled from 32 in 2019-20 to 78 in 2020-21.
Some of the increase may be because of a change in attitudes, rather than an escalation in the amount of unacceptable behaviour.
Against this, more than half of the respondents to a recent public service survey who had seen harassment or bullying in their workplace did not report it.
Most said it was because they did not think any action would be taken.
If the government wants respectful workplaces, it will need to start in its own backyard by policing standards in the public service and the parliament, and ensuring that complaints about sexual harassment are taken seriously.
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