Bullying and sexual harassment within Victorian parliament could soon be probed by an independent panel amid allegations bullying behaviour occurred under the Premier’s watch.
A push for workplace safety to be examined by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) will be introduced to parliament this week by Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party.
It comes after revelations Victorian MPs reported being harassed in parliament and a former Labor MP went public with bullying claims.
“The Victorian parliament has an important role to play as an exemplar of best practice in the prevention of, and response to, bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault in workplaces,” Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell said.
“But we’re out of step with the community’s rightful expectations in 2022.”
Earlier this month Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was hit with fresh bullying accusations by rogue MP Kaushaliya Vaghela, who claimed she experienced “systematic” bullying at the hands of her colleagues.
Ms Vaghela, who quit the Labor Party this month, made the claims under parliamentary privilege and detailed how she was subjected to years of bullying after being elected.
Ms Vaghela said a “friend” of the Premier was among a group of men who targeted her with a “harassment and intimidation campaign”.
She told parliament the Premier’s tune towards her changed when she joined his caucus, which came amid a barrage of in-party bullying.
“He was hostile. He treated me as if I was invisible,” she said.
“He would brush past me at events and embrace the bullies and their friends as if to reward and encourage their behaviour.”
During her speech in parliament, Ms Vaghela also levelled allegations against Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams, who she said referred to her as a “rat who can’t be trusted”.
Ms Vaghela said her complaints of colleagues’ bullying were repeatedly ignored by the Premier’s office despite their serious and prolific nature.
The Labor Party has denied Ms Vaghela’s version of events.
Concerns have been raised that there has been no independent process to handle complaints.
The revelations triggered a review into whether the parliament needed an independent commissioner for bullying and sexual harassment complaints.
But Ms Maxwell said this proposal appeared to have gone nowhere and a VEOHRC review was nexjmtzyweded because the code of conduct for ministers and MPs was “dead silent” on these issues.
Ms Maxwell said the VEOHRC needed to examine whether the laws and policies for complaints were working in the Victorian parliament.
“There is not a single mechanism for all who work here that ensures we can be held to the same standards of behaviour, that we can be safe, and that an independent workplace standards body is available to deal with complaints free from political interference,” she said.
