Australian law on sex discrimination will soon apply to politicians. Why has it not been done before?

Australian law on sex discrimination will soon apply to politicians. Why has it not been done before?

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Morrison said at a news conference on Thursday that the government intends to amend the Gender Discrimination Act according to measures to address sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. He said he hopes to pass the new laws by the end of June.

According to Morrison, sexual harassment is ‘immoral and contemptible and even criminal’, and ‘Australians, especially women, deny not only their personal safety but also their economic safety by not being safe at work.’

The changes were recommended in a March 2020 report by Australian Commissioner for Sex Discrimination, Kate Jenkins. It took the government more than a year to announce amendments to the law.
The pressure to update the law comes as the country’s political culture comes under fire after a spate of allegations over the past two months of inappropriate sexual behavior in parliament, including assert harassment and rape.
In February, a former staff member in Morrison’s ruling Liberal Party said she was raped by a colleague in 2019 when she was in Parliament House in Canberra. Three weeks later, the then attorney general, Christian Porter, revealed that in the late 1980s he was accused of raping a woman, which he vehemently denied.
Morrison has been heavily criticized for his response to the allegations. On March 15, thousands of women across Australia marched in protest to end violence against women and greater protection against sex crimes.

Zali Steggall, an independent federal politician and lawyer, said the proposed legislative changes were a positive step, but she called on the government to make the changes quickly.

“The longer the delay, the longer the behavior is not caught, and it is not retroactive legislation, so it should be implemented as soon as possible,” she said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will speak at a press conference in Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on April 8.

How the loopholes were created

Australia’s law on sex discrimination was adopted in 1984.

In reviewing the law for the UNSW Law Journal on its 20th anniversary in 2004, the Australian expert on discrimination, Beth Gaze, described it as ‘hesitant and rather ambivalent’.

Gaze told CNN that under the Gender Discrimination Act, politicians and judges are not covered, as they do not fall within the areas of work where the legislation prohibits discrimination – leaving them outside the protection of the law.

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Politicians’ staff members are covered under separate employment legislation, Gaze said, which does not include the protection of sex discrimination.

Legal experts said the loopholes in the law were likely the result of outdated and poorly worded legislation, rather than an attempt to deliberately protect Australian politicians from allegations of sexual harassment.

Federal politician Steggall said the original wording of the 1984 law was descriptive, trying to lay out every kind of workplace where discrimination or harassment could occur, rather than issuing a complete ban. The wording of the legislation has led to confusion and gray areas.

The original law ‘reflects the time in which it was created’, said the President of the Australian Law Council, Dr. Jacoba Brasch, said in a statement. “Australian culture and attitudes have moved on, and the SDA needs to be updated to reflect the current expectations of the public,” she said.

Steggall said the loopholes were first identified during an inquiry in the Australian Senate in 2008, but it took more than a decade to rectify, with the blame on ‘all sides of politics for not acting’ not.

What’s in the edits?

Morrison said Thursday he would accept all 55 of the commissioner’s recommendations, including a total ban on sex discrimination in the workplace and a national survey every four years to examine progress.

The government’s proposed amendments to the Gender Discrimination Act will also make it clearer to employers and employees about what gender discrimination entails, and it will take longer to lodge complaints.

But despite Morrison’s time frame in June, Steggall said she has drafted new laws that are ready to be introduced as soon as parliament resumes in May.

Her legislation would close the loopholes in the Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Act under all circumstances, she said. The law would also punish organizations or political parties that help or assist crime.

Brasch said the success of any legislation introduced by the Morrison government depends on how the new laws are worded, to eradicate any “ambiguity” in the legislation and to ensure that officials are “personally liable” for sexual misconduct. harassment.

“(This is) the key to ensuring that (the problem) is addressed in the right way, and that problematic behavior does not fall into the gaps in the regulations,” she said.

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