A report has been published of a review into bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct at the Parliament of NSW this morning, detailing a toxic culture of bullying and harassment and including incidents of sexual assault.
Speaking at a press conference, NSW minister for women Bronnie Taylor addressed perpetrators directly.
“For those particular people that may be reading that report today. You know who you are. And my very strong advice to you is that you do not belong in the Parliament of New South Wales… Get the help you need and please leave the New South Wales Parliament,” Taylor said.
Within the report itself, allegations of harassment of NSW public servants were published, mentioning when abusive behaviour does occur there is no recourse.
“We are regularly told ‘don’t worry about it, [just ignore it]’, but it is all done under privilege, and we have no right of recourse. It’s not ok,” an unnamed public servant told the inquiry.
Another said: “I worry for the public sector and how we will continue to attract and retain people. MPs’ behaviour is having an impact on whether people will take on these leadership roles.”
As it happened: Broderick report highlights ‘toxic’ workplace culture in NSW
Broderick to conduct review of sexual harassment, bullying in NSW Parliament
An NSW report into its parliamentary culture is reportedly set to tell a story of workplace bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct, echoing the 2020 Respect@Work report by sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins into federal Parliamentary culture.
The NSW report is being led by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
According to The Guardian, the report paints a picture of a toxic workplace, including allegations of criminal offences.
An NSW spokesperson told The Guardianthat support services were being offered in the lead-up to and also following the release of the report to parliamentary staff.
Meanwhile, NSW building commissioner David Chandler’s resignation letter has been sent to NSW ICAC according to premier Dominic Perrottet during Question Time on Wednesday. Chandler reported to minister Eleni Petinos, who was let go last week following allegations of workplace bullying.
“This is a personal letter related to an employment matter. I’ve been advised by [secretary of the Department of Customer Service Emma Hogan] that appropriate action was taken by her in relation to the contents of the letter,” the NSW premier said.
Perrottet added he understood the letter would be provided to the upper house on Thursday and also stated the sacking of Petinos had nothing to do with Chandler’s resignation letter.
At the time of her resignation, Petinos said she “would never intentionally offend anyone or make them feel uncomfortable, and if I did I am truly sorry”.
Petinos was the first of two ministers to resign last week, the second being minister Stuart Ayres, over his involvement in the appointment of John Barilaro to the role of senior trade and investment minister (STIC) to the Americas.
Ayres has denied any wrongdoing, saying he resigned to support the integrity of the Liberal Party.
Investigation into NSW parliament details toxic workplace
By Tom Rabe and Lucy Cormack
A landmark investigation into the workplace culture at NSW parliament has uncovered a toxic and “devastating” combination of bullying, sexual harassment and assault, with MPs identified as the main perpetrators of some of the worst behaviour.
The review, conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, will be published on Friday but MPs were provided briefings on Thursday which revealed one in three respondents had experienced bullying or sexual harassment in the past five years.
One briefing, given to several MPs and seen by the Herald, said 52 per cent of bullying incidents were perpetrated by members of parliament.
Well known “hotspots” of concern have also been identified in the Macquarie Street building, which were categorised by high staff turnover related to harmful behaviour.
The report is expected to include recommendations to review access to alcohol, alter office arrangements during late-night sittings to avoid staff being left on their own, and introduce new systems to rebalance an unequal distribution of power and under-representation of women.
MPs were told close to 30 per cent of MPs, ministerial and backbench staff, cleaners, security personnel and hospital workers responded to the review, with 28 per cent of respondents having experienced bullying in the past five years.
The briefing described a “vacuum” in which some individuals and offices are in denial about the prevalence and impact of these behaviours or consider these behaviours to be normalised. It said close to 50 per cent of MPs had reported being bullied.
“The report highlighted the bullying of female MPs and bullying of staff by MPs as particular issues,” the briefing said.
Parliamentary workplaces are losing smart, talented and passionate individuals due to these behaviours.”
Almost 500 people – 27.7 per cent of the parliamentary workforce – participated in the review online. More than 100 gave confidential one-on-one interviews and seven confidential group sessions were conducted. It also received 58 confidential written submissions.
Many participants described the effect of the bullying and sexual harassment on their mental health and their careers as “devastating”.
The briefings to MPs have indicated recommendations could include measures to reduce working hours and conditions that exacerbate risk.
Such measures could include reviewing offices with few employees and late-night sittings, updating alcohol policies to address accessibility and consumption, and making workplace safety training mandatory.
The report is expected to recommend NSW Police provide training to security staff and special constables, targeting early intervention and crisis management.
It could also suggest a review of rules under which an MP can be investigated for breaching the code of conduct.
Premier Dominic Perrottet referenced the Broderick report earlier this month after sacking Eleni Petinos from cabinet amid serious bullying accusations against her. She denies the accusations.
The premier said the Broderick review highlighted the need to act swiftly on complaints of misconduct to ensure people feel safe at work.
It follows an earlier review of NSW ministerial offices by former sex discrimination commissioner and former minister Pru Goward, commissioned by former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
All MPs and staff employed at parliament within the past five years were invited to participate voluntarily in the Broderick investigation.
Further recommendations are expected to include creating an independent body to investigate reports of workplace misconduct, with measures to protect survivors from retribution.
The briefings suggested 20 per cent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment in the past five years, with the majority of incidents perpetrated by men or someone more senior.
Both women and men reported experiences of actual or attempted sexual assault to the review. However, it was highest among people who identified as having a diverse sexuality. Two per cent of workers indicated they had experienced actual or attempted sexual assault.
The Goward review last year found protections and processes available to ministerial staff were “unclear, ineffective and inadequate”.
The review, commissioned by Berejiklian, said ministerial offices are “unique workplaces”, where staff are under intense public scrutiny and “employment protections for ministers are vastly greater than those of their staff”.
NSW Sexual Violence Helpline 1800 385 578
Lifeline: 131 114
Saving a sinking ship: leadership lessons for replacing a failed CEO
Taking over at a time of crisis can be the biggest test a leader can face. Here are the secrets to steering the ship to calmer waters
CEOs can find themselves in a similar situation when installed at the top of a business with its back against the wall. For example, former Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was parachuted into Uber to root out the toxic culture that had developed under prior CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick.
There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the organisation revitalise itself under your stewardship and seeing your actions driving out that toxicity day by day.
DOJ source calls raid a ‘spectacular backfire,’ claims AG Garland didn’t approve it.
The story concludes with another big revelation. It claims that AG Merrick Garland was being updated on the National Archives investigation and knew about the grand jury but did not approve the search Monday. Newsweek’s source claims Garland had “no prior knowledge” of the time of the raid. Instead it was FBI Director Christopher Wray who approved the search. Finally, the source adds, “It really is a case of the Bureau misreading the impact.”
This is a lot of new information but I think the big take-aways are that this had nothing to do with Jan. 6 and that these DOJ sources are now feeling a lot of pressure, enough that they are a) trying to explain themselves and b) blaming the “spectacular backfire” on the FBI and the US Attorney while trying to insulate AG Garland from the blowback.
As Scott Johnson writes at Power Line, “We saw the FBI agents holding the fort down outside Mar-a-Lago with big weapons. It was sickening. Christopher Wray should be sent packing and the FBI should be dissolved and reconstituted. It has become an unaccountable and politically corrupt organization.”
Related: FBI Quest for Trump Documents Started With Breezy Chats, Tour of a Crowded Closet. “FBI officials showed up with instructions to keep the search as unobtrusive as possible, with agents dressed in plainclothes and told not to take any weapons, people familiar with the plan said. The Secret Service was notified and then Mr. Trump’s lawyers. On site, the FBI asked for several things, according to a person familiar, including a diagram of the sprawling building and that surveillance cameras be turned off, citing officer safety.”
