SpeechANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): It is an absolute honour to stand and take a call on this third reading on the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill. As somebody who is relatively new to this House to see this member's bill come through from the Hon Dr Russell and then through our Education and Workforce Committee and then of course Marja Lubeck taking it into her safe hands—to be able to have been a part of this process has been an honour because this is going to have an impact on workers' lives and that's really really important. We heard so much in the select committee as Ibrahim Omer alluded to from some really brave voices who came to our select committee their individual stories and from those representatives from unions who came and shared their stories and those voices of our most vulnerable workers. Sexual harassment often happens when there is a significant power imbalance and we know that that power imbalance is more likely to happen when you are in precarious work and you don't know if you're going to get another shift when you are poorly paid and you cannot afford to be fired because there's nothing in the bank to tide you over till you get another job or you're a migrant worker and you're reliant on your employer for the opportunity to even be in this country. We know that we have vulnerable workers in workplaces where the culture is one of silence and the idea of Just suck it up; it's the way things happen around here." is a really damaging environment for people to work in.I particularly note our young workers and I feel really sad to think that young workers are coming into the workforce and they start their lives contributing to our economy being taught that it is absolutely appropriate that they are to be exploited. That's not a great way to be teaching our young people to participate and see themselves in our economy as workers. They should be valued and they certainly shouldn't be exploited. We heard so much—and I think I spoke about it last time—about this bill being about time and that 12 months will allow so much more to happen for justice to be sought and served for some amount of healing hopefully to happen and trauma to be dealt with and realised and having time to process; to understand that actually no the behaviour is never acceptable. But even noticing and knowing what is unacceptable can take a while to process and then what you're going to do about it. I think when we walk away from here this won't be a bill that is just popped up on the shelf but it is something that we have to enable to happen and make sure that workers can really use to empower themselves and part of that will be about education. It really concerned us when we heard from one of the unions—it was Unite actually—who'd done some significant work in understanding and getting some evidence about what workers knew and thought about personal grievances and what their experiences were. I think this should be reflected upon by our education system by those who are employing our young people into the workforce because when they surveyed people 80 percent didn't know at the time that that behaviour was unacceptable that there was a potential grievance there that they were being treated badly; 45 percent still didn't know in retrospect; no one under the age of 20 knew what a personal grievance was at the time they were harassed—no one under the age of 20. That is significant and we need to empower these workers. I think that's one of the great things about this bill and once it passes into legislation we need to make sure we shout it from the rooftops. This is a really clear signal to our young people that they are valued not as dishwashers and floor sweepers and baristas but as people who have something to contribute and who deserve to be valued and respected and protected. We need to educate them about what this is and what the process is when things do go wrong—because inevitably they will—and what a personal grievance is and how to get involved in that process to make sure that it doesn't do more damage than doing nothing. Ninety-three percent of those who had experienced sexual harassment never lodged a personal grievance and you need to ask why. We know that part of it's cultural and educational. They didn't know what was possible until they had support and they need that time. I think that's a really really important part of this legislation. Another reason is the response from their employers. You know you reach out to a workmate or to a supervisor about some behaviour elsewhere in the workplace and so often it is not adequately investigated—quite possibly because the person they reached out to also had something to lose. There was a price that they were going to have to pay for putting their neck on the line and standing up against people who were behaving badly.We hear so often—and it isn't just our most vulnerable workers—in the workplace "I don't want to be branded as a trouble maker." That is a completely unacceptable way of framing up such behaviour. Actually employers—those responsible for the welfare of their staff—should be really pleased with this bill giving them the space to actually do what so many of them want to do and that's get it right and make sure that these things are remedied and that they can care for everybody in their employment. This is an important bill. It may seem small but it is important and it sends a signal not just to those who have experienced sexual harassment but also the perpetrators. It lifts the bar a bit. It makes sure that we are being very clear about giving people the space to seek justice. We hear about the individual examples from many of the submitters and it's so taboo often for people to speak out. There is the shame the guilt and the way that becomes a part of your identity as a worker as a staff member. Like I say I think that is even more important when we're talking about young people coming into the workforce. It was a reality check that we got from all of those submitters about why it was hard not just because they had to process it in their own minds but they then had to have conversations with other people. They didn't want to be trouble—that mind-set that it's too much trouble: it's real but it's emotionally and mentally complicated. We know that by giving people the space to process it to reach out to seek help means that the resolution in the end—and the ability for people to move on—is really really important. It's an uncomfortable topic. And again more time more space will help to mean that we end up with issues being resolved in a much more satisfactory way. That isn't just about punishment and justice but it is about the victims ending up in a place where they can also move on. It has been a pleasure to learn about this process of a member's bill and like I say it was very humbling to have such a topic be supported coming through the House. We've had a lot of different people involved and it's really great to hear support from across the House for something so important. It is really nice when we can stand together and look after our workers and value them as people and as contributors—not just financially but as humanity—to make sure that we end up with a stronger and healthier workforce as a result. It is because of this that I am very very happy to recommend this bill to the House."