Procedure Committee

Mehreen Faruqi

I, and also on behalf of Senator Thorpe, move:

That—

(a) the following matter be referred to the Procedure Committee for inquiry and report by 22 June 2026: Whether, in line with recommendation 10 of the Set the standard: Report on the independent review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces (Set the Standard report), any changes to the language and interpretation of the standing orders are required to:

(i) eliminate language, behaviour, decision-making and practices that are sexist, racist or otherwise exclusionary and discriminatory,

(ii) improve safety and respect in the Senate chamber, and

(iii) clarify unclear and inconsistent types of behaviour and enforcement of standards;

(b) the Senate notes that:

(i) successive governments, working across the Parliament, have taken strong action to implement all 28 recommendations of the Set the Standard report, which was tabled on 30 November 2021,

(ii) the Government and the Parliament have taken action to implement all recommendations of the Set the Standard report, working through the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce, and recommendations from the report are now all ongoing or completed, with a review to take place 18 months after the commencement of the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service,

(iii) the President referred an inquiry into recommendation 10 of the Set the Standard report to the Procedure Committee in October 2022,

(iv) the Procedure Committee presented its report in response to this referral on 12 September 2023,

(v) the Senate unanimously adopted the behaviour standards for Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces (behaviour standards) and codes of conduct for Australian parliamentarians and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 on 10 October 2024, which commenced on 14 October 2024,

(vi) specifically, the behaviour standards require that people 'uphold laws that support safe and respectful workplaces, including anti discrimination, employment, work health and safety and criminal laws' and states that 'bullying, harassment, sexual harassment or assault, or discrimination in any form, including on the grounds of race, age, sex, sexuality, gender identity, disability or religion will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored', and

(vii) the Parliament established a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Parliamentary Standards on 10 October 2024; and

(c) the Senate reaffirms that all parliamentarians have a role to play in upholding appropriate standards of behaviour in the Parliament, including those outlined in the behaviour standards.

Katy Gallagher

by leave—The government agrees that the conduct and behaviour of senators in this place has deteriorated to an unacceptable level; however, we do not believe that a motion simply referring this matter to the Senate Standing Committee on Procedure is a solution to remedy that behaviour, so we will not be supporting part (a) of the motion. The recommendations of the Human Rights Commission's Set the standard report have been met with broad support in this place, particularly given the concerning findings that indicated that, as a parliament, we must do better.

Over the past few years, in response to this report, the Albanese government has reformed the frameworks that seek to improve workplace culture in this building. We, as elected members of this Senate, have a serious and enduring role to play in setting and upholding these standards, but it also means we must be conscious of the impacts of our behaviour and our words. When a senator behaves in a disorderly way, it's up to the chamber to manage this behaviour. I would also encourage those who are moving this motion today to reflect honestly about their own conduct towards others in this place.

Sue Lines

The question is that business of the Senate No. 3, standing in the name of Senators Thorpe and Faruqi, part (a) be agreed to.