BREAKING: I just moved to suspend standing orders to debate my Parliamentary Standards Bill. Women deserve to feel safe and heard in Parliament, as they should in any workplace.

“It is long past time that women in this building feel safe... We’ve called on the PM to show some leadership and to take action. All we’ve heard is that this isn’t his problem, these issues are in the past, and there is a process.”

“Well we took a good look at this process and it’s full of holes. The process does not have any implications for the alleged abuser. There is no power for the Finance dept to actually discipline or have any other consequence for a MP or MOP(s) Act employee...”

“This Govt’s has held up a process that is entirely inadequate and does not protect women... this is why we need an independent code of conduct that is independently enforced, that has teeth, and that actually applies to all MPs and their senior staff.”

“The current process is weak and is an insult. We would like the PM to show some leadership and fix the process. We have seen nothing...”

“For too long, MPs have gotten away with abusing their power, and it’s so often the young female staffers that suffer the consequences. It’s their careers that are ended, not the MPs. And this building is not a safe workplace.”

“This is the Parliament’s #MeToo moment and it is incumbent on all of us to be part of the solution. I hope this bill is taken seriously and I hope that we see the PM acknowledge the problem and do something about it.”