Leading the change: report recommends zero tolerance of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct in NSW Parliamentary Workplaces

I have been reading with great interest the report of former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick into bullying, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in NSW parliamentary workplaces which found 36% of workers indicated that they had experienced bullying or sexual harassment in the past 5 years.

Other key findings included:

• Bullying is a significant, systemic and multi-directional issue across Parliamentary workplaces in NSW.
• Those working in Parliamentary workplaces have low confidence in structural or cultural protections to prevent bullying or to stop it once it is occurring.
• Sexual harassment and everyday sexism occur at unacceptable rates, with prevalence of experiences particularly high for women, people who identified as having a diverse sexuality and younger people (24-35 years old).
• The impact of these behaviours is heightened for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Some offices were described as “well-known hotspots”, characterised by high rates of staff turnover related to harmful behaviour.
• The human cost of these behaviours is high - participants described the impact of these behaviours on their mental health, their wellbeing, their relationships, and their career as ‘devastating’.
• The organisational cost is similarly high, with Parliamentary workplaces losing smart, capable and passionate individuals due to these behaviours.

Key drivers and contributors of these harmful behaviours include:

• the unequal distribution of power;
• the under representation of women and diverse cohorts in formal decision-making roles;
• the unequal distribution of accountability and inconsistent behavioural expectations;
• the highly pressured and political nature of the working environment;
• working hours, staffing arrangements and access to and consumption of alcohol in NSW Parliamentary workplaces;
• limited confidence in the ability of current policies to either prevent or respond meaningfully to harmful behaviours;
• limited trust in the reporting arrangements with particular concern relating to confidentiality and a perceived high risk of retribution or negative career impacts, for those who report harmful behaviours (being precisely the opposite of a "speak up" culture)
• low reporting rates resulting in the prevalence and impact of these behaviours or accepted that such behaviours are normalised.

People management capability emerged as an area were parliamentarians were found lacking prioritising managing electorate, state and party interests rather than running their own workplaces. This is not unique to parliament and has been the case with business owners and leaders who are great technicians or entrepreneurs but completely tunnel visioned and focused on their perceived prime function or commercial priorities over their people. It has been drilled into business leaders for years that this cannot happen and if it does the results are far from favourable. The message is spreading to all workplaces, slowly, but surely.

A culture of fear also seems to have permeated with staff and former staff being fearful to come to work and suffering from work-related anxiety as a result of their workplace culture and members who were "more concerned about winning politically than the welfare and psychological well-being of their staff'"

None of this is new.

None of this is particularly unique to parliament.

The problems are obvious.

Change is necessary.

There is no quick fix but ignoring the problem can be catastrophic.

It's good to see these systemic drivers being considered and addressed in parliamentary workplaces. Leaders who are prepared to investigate these issues, to hold the mirror up and reflect on what is going wrong, to stop tolerating the intolerable, with a genuine commitment to addressing the addressing these issues can pave a path to a safer and healthier tomorrow for their people, whilst reaping the benefit of more collaborative and high performing teams.

As for our parliament, to represent the community, leaders must be representative of it and this will never be the case in cultures riddled with bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment. Thanks to Elizabeth Broderick for her work on this review and contribution to bringing the issues to the surface today. This report marks an important first step towards safer, healthier and more respectful parliamentary workplaces in NSW.

A summary of the Framework for Action follows for ease of reference:

1.Make prevention and early intervention a leadership and organisational priority in all NSW Parliamentary workplaces

1.1 Building shared leadership responsibility

1.2 Developing a Statement of Acknowledgement and a Statement of Aspiration

1.3 Strengthening governance and coordination

1.4 Strengthening collaboration across the Parliamentary system.

2. Address the cultural factors that contribute to bullying, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in Parliamentary workplaces

2.1 Strengthening and resourcing work on diversity and inclusion

2.2 Addressing power imbalances and strengthen accountability

2.3 Reviewing and improving working hours and conditions for MoPS staff

2.4 Reducing the harms associated with alcohol consumption across Parliamentary workplaces

2.5 Establishing a Taskforce to reduce specific risks for LGBTIQ+ people in Parliamentary workplaces.

3. Create an enabling policy environment

3.1 Reviewing and strengthening the Codes of Conduct for each House.

3.2 Reviewing the Members of Parliament Staff (MoPS) Act 2013 and updating the relevant written employment agreements

3.3 Reviewing and updating the policy framework covering bullying, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in NSW Parliament

3.4 Political parties reviewing their internal policies on harmful behaviours

3.5 Updating Standing Orders to require respectful behaviour in both Houses.

4. Inform, empower, support and encourage everyone to speak up and take action on bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in Parliamentary workplaces

4.1 Providing best practice training on bullying, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct

4.2 Providing best practice leadership and management development for MPs and senior staff

4.3 Implementing strategies to improve access to and uptake of training.

5. Create a safe reporting environment that is human-centric and trauma-informed 

5.1 Investigating the potential to create an independent body to provide advice and early intervention, receive and investigate reports and support all parties in a complaint

5.2 Resourcing, training and guidance for DPS staff to enable trauma-informed and human-centric responses to inquiries and reports

5.3 Developing strategies to improve access to the Independent Complaints Officer

5.4 Updating and expanding pathways for reporting

5.5 Updating the respective Codes of Conduct to strengthen protection against retribution for survivors and witnesses

5.6 Providing access to support for all parties

5.7 Providing training on trauma-informed responses to security guards and Special Constables

5.8 Strengthening protections around Standing Order 52

5.9 Developing new principles on confidentiality and transparency

5.10 Implementing an educational campaign to increase awareness of reporting pathways.

6. Transparent monitoring

6.1 Developing a process for routine monitoring of prevalence

6.2 Auditing activities undertaken to create safe and inclusive workplaces

6.3 Identifying ‘hotspots’

6.4 Commissioning an independent evaluation of progress in two to three years’ time.