Through the whorls of Canberra’s streets and up the sweep of Commonwealth Avenue, Parliament House sits as a testament to democracy and the rule of law.
It’s a place of many rules, rules about where you can go and when you can speak and how you should speak. The guide to the House of Representatives’ parliamentary procedures runs to more than 100 pages, and points to a further 24 sources of information on the rules. Then there are the standing orders, which run to 164 pages. And that’s not even including the Senate.
The place where they make laws is itself a place of laws, rules and procedures. But, weirdly, many of those who work there are not covered by the sorts of rules that other workplaces have. Staffers aren’t protected by a parliamentarian code of conduct. There’s no HR department for them. And MPs aren’t even clear on what they should do in the case of reported illegal activities – such as rape.
Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie says after a two-day induction to the running of the place “you’re on your own”. If you have questions about hiring or dealing with staff, the member for Mayo says, “you’re basically told to call the Department of Finance”, who say “we can’t provide you with guidance. We can’t tell you how to do it”.
Brittany Higgins’ allegations that she was raped by a fellow staffer in defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office, along with historic allegations of rape against attorney general Christian Porter (which he denies), and other stories about reprehensible behaviour within parliament, have prompted accusations it’s a toxic workplace and that no other workplace would allow such a situation.
While it’s true that parliament is a highly unusual place to work in, and that it is facing multiple scandals, it’s far from alone when it comes to sexual harassment.
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2020 report, Respect@Work, one in three people experienced sexual harassment at work over a five-year period. The AHRC is scathing about Australia’s response to sexual harassment in general.
“Over 35 years, the rate of change has been disappointingly slow,” it found. “Australia now lags behind other countries in preventing and responding to sexual harassment.”
It says the existing legal and regulatory system is “simply no longer fit for purpose” and recommends a shift from the current reactive model to a proactive one.
“The new regulatory model that the commission recommends recognises that the right of workers to be free from sexual harassment is a human right, a workplace right, and a safety right,” it says.
And it recommends changes to the Sex Discrimination Act, which does not clearly prohibit sexual harassment in all workplaces. Independent MP for Warringah Zali Steggall is among those pushing for an amendment so it does.
Those laws – the federal ones made in that very House – are the first step towards making workplaces healthier and safer. But experts say that’s just the start. Most corporations then have policies and procedures to implement protections. And then there’s the trickier but critical issue of changing a workplace, of actively protecting workers and preventing toxicity from building up.
Dr Kirstin Ferguson, a professional company director and leadership expert who has been on a range of public and private company boards, says she has been shocked to learn there isn’t a structured process to deal with sexual harassment in parliament.
“Most corporates at least have a process. Whether it’s effective or not…,” she says.
She says in many workplaces there’s a culture of silence around sexual harassment because too often women see that there are no consequences for perpetrators, and that other women who have complained end up being the ones who have to leave.
“So when you weigh up the risk/reward, it’s no wonder women stay silent,” she says. “There’s fear from women whether the culture they work in is truly safe enough to speak up. I think there’s a lot of poor behaviour that’s never had consequences.”
But there are ways to address that, and psychological safety is the key.
“That term turns people off,” Ferguson says. “But it means you work in a place where you say what you need to say.”
Making a workplace psychologically safe is a long and hard process, though, and it needs strong leadership.
Sarah McCann-Bartlett, the chief executive officer and managing director of the Australian Human Resources Institute, says some organisations are “really terrific”.
“Then there are organisations in the middle, on the journey, then there are some – many – who don’t think about it all, or they do a tick-a-box exercise and they don’t understand how the broader ways of working are unintentionally promoting or accepting unethical behaviours,” she says.
AHRI’s research has found that CEOs have a far rosier picture of what’s happening in the organisation than the middle management. And middle management in turn have a rosier view than the employees beneath them.
“You often find when some of these issues come out that the board, the CEO and the executive team is surprised but nobody else is,” she says.
McCann-Bartlett describes psychologically safe workplaces as ones where there’s respect and trust, where people enjoy coming to work, and where people feel confident speaking up about bad behaviour.
Having a code of conduct is the “absolute minimum” to achieve that, she says.
“They must have solid complaint and disciplinary codes in place, and a bullying and harassment code that includes sexual harassment.
“But having the policies isn’t enough.”
She says companies need to have a clearly defined set of values, and to then audit their company to find the gaps between those values and reality, then find practical ways to close that gap. That means ongoing training, and casting that values lens over all processes from recruitment to selection and induction.
Organisational psychologist Leanne Faraday-Brash is the principal at Brash Consulting and works with both toxic workplaces and high-performing ones. She says in the “nirvana and bliss” of healthy workplaces, leaders live by their values, and people relish working there and holding those values, and know what they can and can’t do.
Then there are organisations where profitability, the popularity of the perpetrator, nepotism or fear of political fallout can stop leaders from doing the right thing.
Workplaces can and do improve, she says.
“You have to have people at the highest levels of the organisation totally committed to acting with courage and being prepared to do the hard stuff, no matter the consequences and possible fallout.
“At the end of the day, you get the culture you deserve and the behaviour you’re prepared to tolerate.”
And there is some hope that lessons being learned in the corporate world can be applied to Parliament House.
Back up the hill, Sharkie says she was lucky to have some human resources experience, and to have hired a trained psychologist who can help both other staff members and constituents, and she’s thinking about how she can better equip herself to support her staff. Sharkie said mentoring could be useful as well.
“How good would it be if someone like (former Labor MP) Jenny Macklin could advise an incoming Nationals member?
“It is unlike any other workplace, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Former Democrats senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, who is the chair of Our Watch, says healthy workplaces listen to their staff without judging them, help staff access support services, are flexible in their responses, know their roles and responsibilities, and seek advice if they need it.
She says there is no excuse for parliament not to have proper protocols in place, and to strive to become a healthy workplace.
“This is a moment of reckoning. It can be a watershed moment,” she said. “The past few weeks have been confronting, distressing and anger-making for many, but they have also been quite triggering for many of us.
“We need widespread change in terms of policies and practises but we need cultural change and, while that takes time to achieve, it can be turbocharged. Now is the time to do that.”
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.
