Damning report into parliamentary behaviour | Tay's Reasoning

In response, Katherine Murphy wrote in the Guardian Australia: "The Australian Parliament, the whole arse-covering and ego-driven apparatus, should be paralysed by shame and remorse". Quite.

The New York Times put it even more plainly when it described the Australian Parliament as "a cloistered, alcohol-fuelled environment where powerful men violate boundaries unchecked".

As to why it is so, the report highlighted the role of power, gender inequality, a lack of accountability, and a culture of entitlement as the key drivers of the problem.

Now to the detail.

More than half the people (51 per cent) currently working in Parliament had experienced at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault.

Thirty-seven per cent of people experienced bullying.

One participant told the review: "Frequently, like at least every week, the advice was go and cry in the toilet, so that nobody can see you".

Thirty-three per cent experienced some form of sexual harassment.

"Aspiring male politicians who thought nothing of picking you up, kissing you on the lips, lifting you up, touching you, pats on the bottom, comments about appearance, the usual ... the culture allowed it," the review heard.

About one per cent of participants had experienced actual or attempted sexual assault.

According to one: "The MP sitting beside me leaned over ... thinking he wanted to tell me something, I leaned in. He grabbed me and stuck his tongue down my throat. The others all laughed. It was revolting and humiliating".

Women experienced sexual harassment at a higher rate, bullying at a higher rate, and actual and attempted sexual assault at a higher rate. Those who identify as LGBTIQ+ experienced sexual harassment at a higher rate than people who identify as heterosexual.

First Nations people and others from marginalised communities were also more at risk.

As for those doing the bullying, harassing and assaulting, they tended to be more senior, and women were more likely to bully while men were more likely to carry out sexual harassment.

The report found that gender balance matters, and gender inequality is a driver of bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault.

One participant said: "It is a man's world and you are reminded of it every day thanks to the looks up and down you get, to the representation in the parliamentary chambers, to the preferential treatment politicians give senior male journalists".

Power matters, the research found, and in the federal parliamentary workplace, that power works in all sorts of ways. Top down, of course, but sideways and upwards as well.

Unsurprisingly, people's mental health is affected. The review heard from one person about the people they knew. "One tried to commit suicide, another admitted themselves into a mental facility. I know three women who worked in CPWs that are still seeing psychologists. One had a marriage breakdown, and one has completely relocated with her children as a result of the direct influence of that member of parliament.

Only 11 per cent of people who experienced sexual harassment reported it, because they thought it wasn't serious enough, or that people would think they were overreacting.

Just 32 per cent of people who experienced bullying reported it, as they thought nothing would be done or it would damage their reputation or career.

The report also told us about the parliamentary lifestyle. The review heard about the "high pressure" and "win at all costs" work environment in parliament. "Participants also identified a range of factors that create both physical and psychosocial risks, such as a 'work hard, play hard' culture, with high levels of stress, long and irregular hours, extensive travel and regular alcohol use".

Nonetheless, the review apparently remains optimistic that the culture can be changed. It concluded that: "An opportunity exists for leaders not only to set the standard, but to set in motion a program of lasting reform".

There's no room today to go into detail on the report's recommendations, but one calls for parliamentarians who sexually harass staff to be suspended and have their salaries withheld. We've heard nothing from Morrison or Albanese about adopting the report's recommendations, but at least Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt gave a press conference with deputy leader Larissa Waters, calling for the recommendations to be implemented in full.