The government has just three months to establish and enforce a code of conduct for parliamentarians in line with sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins’ recommendations to improve workplace culture.
It comes as details of a settlement between the Commonwealth and former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller are released. She has received $650,000 following allegations she experienced abuse and harassment by her former boss and then Morrison government minister Alan Tudge. Miller accused Tudge of being emotionally and, on one occasion, physically abusive to her while they were involved in a consensual affair in 2017. Tudge and Senator Michaelia Cash, who was also named in the no admissions settlement, deny the allegations.
Miller went public late last year as Parliament faced a sexual reckoning: Jenkins’ review into parliamentary workplace culture exposed a culture of abuse and secrecy, finding one in three parliamentary staff had been sexually harassed at work. The report made 28 recommendations, which have been accepted by the Albanese government — including developing a code of conduct for parliamentarians.
The code would extend to anyone who works in Parliament, not just ministers. It would be overseen by an independent parliamentary standards commission to address the culture of secrecy and coverup. Independent MP Kylea Tink has pushed for MPs to be expelled from Parliament for extreme breaches of the new code.
Members of the parliamentary leadership taskforce are accepting submissions for the code but just two have made it online — one by independent MP Sophie Scamps. Submissions close this Friday.
Independent Zali Steggall is a member of the taskforce and told Crikey she was confident the code was progressing as planned. Speaking on both the former and current Parliament, Steggall said having only a ministerial code of conduct presented a “big gap” in workplace culture.
“My overwhelming impression was this is an environment that’s way behind modern workforce practices in terms of respect, and in terms of how board meetings are conducted … and how mediations and discussions are conducted,” she said.
“There’s currently no obligation as a member of Parliament to first and foremost must uphold the reputation of the Parliament … It’s shocking.”
Currently staff are only bound by the weaker ministerial code of conduct which relies on the ethics of each prime minister and is often poorly enforced.
An independent Inquiry into Miller’s allegations found Tudge had breached ministerial standards by engaging in a sexual relationship with a staffer, as well as the Australian public service code of conduct regarding avoiding a conflict of interest. Miller didn’t participate in the inquiry and potential code breaches regarding allegations of abuse weren’t investigated.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a new ministerial code in July, requiring politicians and their staff members to take anti-bullying and harassment training, banning ministers from holding interests in blind trusts, and requiring frontbenchers to divest themselves of shareholdings once promoted to the ministry.
Already a member of his party has breached the code: Labor Minister Kristy McBain passed shares on to her husband instead of divesting them, but has since rectified that.
