The Morrison government faces intensifying pressure about the toxic workplace culture at Parliament House, with the Nationals MP Anne Webster lodging a sexual harassment complaint with the party leadership last week.

Webster said the alleged behaviour by the unidentified colleague in the House of Representatives chamber shocked her given the government had been rocked for more than a month by allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

“My first thought was you’ve got to be kidding me,” Webster told the ABC on Monday.

Webster had been tasked a couple of weeks ago by the Nationals leader Michael McCormack with being a contact point for women with bullying or harassment complaints. The MP was a social worker before she entered politics.

“[McCormack] thought I might be appropriate as someone for people to talk to,” Webster said.

The Nationals MP said she had intended to participate herself in a review of parliamentary culture being spearheaded by the sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins – “I just didn’t think I would be walking through it myself and need to call on the finance department, counselling service last week”.

Webster said as well as lodging the formal complaint with the party leadership, she had “spoken to the person and he assures me it won’t happen again”.

“I think we need to work very hard at changing the culture,” Webster said. “Every decision we make to laugh at someone’s innuendo, every decision we make to stand by and say nothing does not assist us.”

The fresh complaint from Webster follows a series of reports over the past few days about another government MP, the Queensland Liberal Andrew Laming, detailing various complaints of poor behaviour towards women, including an incident where he allegedly photographed a woman’s bottom.

With controversy about the MP’s behaviour escalating over the weekend, Laming confirmed on Sunday he would seek help to correct his conduct and would not contest the next federal election.

Labor is intensifying calls for Laming to face a significant punishment given the seriousness of the complaints, but the government is pushing back against calls that the MP should leave politics immediately.

Laming quitting the parliament or moving to the cross bench immediately would deprive the Morrison government of its working majority on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/29/nationals-mp-anne-webster-lodges-sexual-harassment-complaint-against-coalition-colleague

It was a cause for celebration when 30-year-old Kate Ellis was appointed as the youngest Australian to ever become a federal minister. But within 18 months things had turned ugly and her career was on the line.

• Former Labor MP Kate Ellis has gathered accounts of a large number of female politicians
• Former Liberal MP Julia Banks says the workplace culture in Parliament House is the "most unsafe in Australia"
• Ms Ellis expects there are "hundreds more stories" of misogyny

In November 2009 she found herself in the "ridiculous" position of telling a national newspaper editor, "I promise I've never even kissed him," as she pleaded for her political life. 

"I still cringe when I think how pathetic it was that I was begging," she says.

She says weaponised gossip in Parliament House and a rumour that she and her female chief of staff were both having a sexual relationship with a male adviser in their office "was everywhere".

A major newspaper was going to print the story that the alleged love triangle was "destabilising" the government.

If published, she knew it would be career ending. "I would be labelled as a slut and as someone who isn't really up for the job," Ms Ellis tells Australian Story.

Not only was there "zero" truth to the rumour, Ms Ellis also says the inside knowledge of the workings of her office meant the story could only have originated from within her own party. "The only reason was to undermine me," she says.

The pleas worked and the newspaper editor agreed not to publish, but there was no cause for celebration knowing: "Someone was actively fabricating a story to make sure that it looked like I was some flippant floozy who wasn't really serious about the job that I'd been promoted to do."

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-29/female-politicians-reveal-toxic-culture-in-parliament-house/13249844

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The former secretary of Andrew Laming’s Bowman branch says she is surprised it has taken so long for complaints against the Queensland MP to be made public, given his history of making constituents “uncomfortable”.

Suzi Foster was one of three branch executive members suspended from the Liberal National party in 2018 when a letter they wrote to members calling for Laming to be disendorsed was made public ahead of electorate pre-selections. Foster told Guardian Australia concerns had been raised about Laming’s “erratic” behaviour from 2016.

“What has been alleged doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “I’m just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.” 

Foster quit the LNP after the suspension, but had been a member since 2007 and was originally a supporter of Laming. She said she and other members had concerns about Laming’s “temper tantrums” and had pressed for change.

“His behaviour was becoming increasingly erratic, and while we didn’t have any formal complaints about his behaviour, his treatment of constituents, the Facebook arguments, his temper tantrums, it all became too much,” Foster said.

“We wrote the letter, but we didn’t send it out, and still don’t know who did – we had planned to send it to members, but that was the reason the LNP got rid of us. I found out I was suspended by another member.

“We did it [wrote the letter] because we felt it was the best thing for our branch. We needed change.”

Laming has been contacted for comment.

He won preselection over Paul Branagan, who had been the preferred candidate of senior executive members in 2018. Queensland LNP senator, and newly appointed assistant minister for women, Amanda Stoker, is one of the names being raised as a potential preselection candidate for the seat, now that Laming has said he will not contest the next election.

Senior members of the LNP, who only spoke on background as they were not authorised to speak on behalf of the party, said there had been no formal complaints made against Laming, and blamed some of the 2018 issues on “internal politics” and a disagreement within the branch. They denied hearing any complaints related to Laming’s behaviour previously, although two said he was known for being a “management problem”, particularly around the time of elections.

Foster said that had put it mildly. She said branch membership had fallen in the couple of years leading up to the 2018 preselection, which was another reason members of the executive had pushed for change.

“We were actually having meetings with members that had left about why they have left. And every one of them said it was because of Andrew,” she said.

“They said it was his attitude which was the main thing. He wouldn’t listen to anyone.

“I think he felt untouchable. He had been in for so long, I think he felt like he could get away with anything.”

Foster said she had spoken to women who had told her they felt uncomfortable with their interactions with the MP, but that no one took it further, as they didn’t want to attract further attention.

“But I don’t think he should be in the party any longer,” she said. “I think he should be gone.”

Guardian Australia has spoken to other constituents of Laming who have not wanted to go public, but have spoken about “violating” social media interactions with Laming, where the MP had responded by noting personal details about them, such as where their children went to school. The constituents believed he must have looked through their social media profiles before responding to their concerns, and felt intimidated by his use of the information.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/30/andrew-laming-former-branch-secretary-surprised-revelations-didnt-happen-sooner

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Andrew Laming has to go. All the Scomo's overtures to women sound hollow as long as Laming and the other sex-maniacs in the Liberal (CONservative) Party are booted out. OUT!

The federal government will amend the Sex Discrimination Act to include politicians and judges, who have previously been exempt from the laws.

The government is outlining its response to the Respect at Work report, announcing it will adopt the 55 recommendations either in full or in part.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said a series of legislative changes would be introduced into Parliament this year, aimed at strengthening protections against sexual harassment in the workplace.

She said as part of the changes, politicians and judges would be subject to the Sex Discrimination Act.

“We will be subject to the same law as anybody else which means we’ll be subject to the same consequences,” Senator Cash said.

“Somebody can bring a complaint against you to the commission, if it’s upheld it’s upheld. if it’s not, it’s not.”

Read more:

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/04/08/govt-response-respect-at-work/

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