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‘It’s a boys’ club’: Report lifts the lid on sexism, bullying and abuse in the NSW parliament

Confidential interviews with staff at the NSW parliament have lifted the lid on what a report has described as a boozy, predatory boys’ club.

Almost 450 people working at the parliament were interviewed as part of the review by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

The report reveals how the offices of certain MPs and ministers are known to be “hotspots”, ruled by aggressive and abusive elected members who bully, micro-manage and gaslight staff, with devastating consequences.

Here are some of the findings detailed in the report:

‘It’s a bit of a boys’ club’

Some of the comments described a sexist culture pervading the parliament, where MPs are heard making lewd comments about female colleagues and staff.

“It’s a bit of a boys’ club. There’s sexting in the parliament,” one staff member said.

“Conversations in front of junior members of staff about which staff member the MPs would like to have sex with.

“Like locker room talk. I was shocked.”

Another woman surveyed said there was a power imbalance and it was commonplace for MPs to use their position to manipulate and abuse young staff.

“It’s very normalized, the MP and chief of staff sleeping with junior staff,” she said.

“I did not observe coercion but there was absolutely taking advantage.

“It felt like the 1970s, old rich white men employing these beautiful young women in their 20s.”

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Australia

John Barilaro pulls out of parliamentary inquiry into US trade job

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has pulled out of today’s parliamentary inquiry, citing mental health reasons.

The upper house inquiry has been investigating Mr Barilaro’s appointment as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.

He was scheduled to give his second day of evidence today, after first facing the inquiry on Monday.

“John Barilaro has informed the committee that due to mental health reasons he is unable to attend today’s hearing,” a statement from the inquiry said.

Mr Barilaro was due to face questions about what his girlfriend, Jennifer Lugsdin, knew about the lucrative US trade job he was awarded earlier this year.

Ms Lugsdin worked for Investment NSW — the body responsible for hiring people for overseas trade roles — when the Americas job was advertised.

Last December she was copied in on discussions about a media release calling for applications for the trade envoy position.

Before taking the role with Investment NSW, Ms Lugsdin was the senior media advisor for Mr Barilaro between 2019 and 2021.

A woman smiling
Jennifer Lugsdin was awarded a short-term role with Investment NSW in August 2021. (Supplied: Linkedin)

On Monday, Mr Barilaro expressed frustration about facing questions about his personal life.

Labor’s Penny Sharpe said she did not enjoy asking “uncomfortable” questions, but said it was necessary.

“Someone you were in a relationship with… was clearly aware of the various processes associated with the advertising and the nature of [the US trade] position,” she told the hearing on Monday.

Mr Barilaro withdrew from the New York-based trade role in June, saying intense media scrutiny made his appointment “untenable”.

The controversy surrounding his selection is now the subject of two inquiries and it led to the resignation of trade minister Stuart Ayres last week.

Although Mr Ayres is adamant he did nothing wrong, an inquiry by Graeme Head raised concerns he might have breached the ministerial code of conduct.

The upper house inquiry has heard Mr Ayres was not at “arm’s length” from the selection process.

Mr Barilaro resigned as deputy premier in October 2021, saying the pressure of public life had “taken a toll”.

He took a month off for his mental health in 2020 and said he thought he would never come back to politics.

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Australia

South Australian shops could open earlier on Sundays and trade on Boxing Day under proposed legislation

Shops would be allowed to open two hours earlier on a Sunday under new laws set to go into state Parliament next month.

Consultation on the reforms has begun with Premier Peter Malinauskas describing the changes as “sensible”.

Under the proposal, shops will be allowed to trade from 9am on Sunday as opposed to the current laws which only allow them to open at 11am.

The bill would also also allow metropolitan shops outside the Adelaide CBD to operate on Boxing Day.

“It’s about getting the balance right. It’s supported by business, it’s supported by workers,” the Premier said.

The reforms tighten how exemptions are issued to allow trade on public holidays. The former Liberal government used those powers to allow stores to open in the suburbs on public holidays during the last term, including on Easter Monday.

“We don’t think a free-for-all in terms of the exemption regime that the former government sought to exploit is necessarily the right approach,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Boxing Day shopping Adelaide
Currently only shops in Adelaide CBD are allowed to trade on Boxing Day.(ABC News: Nicola Gage)

The opposition is yet to consider the amendments put forward by the government.

“I do note that on recent public holidays, South Australian shoppers who have gone to the shops have been very disappointed to find out that under the new regime those shops have been closed,” said opposition spokesperson John Gardner.

For the bill to pass parliament’s Upper House, Labor needs the support of either the Greens, SA Best or the Liberals.

Josh Peak SDA
SDA secretary Josh Peak will ensure the interests of retail workers are heard.(abcnews)

The union representing SA retail workers welcomed the proposal but say shop trading hours should not be at the expense of workers and local businesses to the interests of interstate and overseas supermarket giants.

“For us, this consultation is about protecting retail workers’ right to be treated with respect, to have a fair roster and to have public holidays off,” Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association secretary Josh Peak said.

“Our shop trading hours are one of the reasons we have one of the most diverse and most competitive supermarket sectors in Australia and this must be safeguarded.”

Drakes Supermarket director John-Paul Drake was supportive of an early start on Sundays.

“We have line-ups at 11am at every store every Sunday,” he said.

“More money goes into the economy, we’d employ more people and they are going to get more hours — so it’s a win-win for everyone.”

He preferred the proposed rules to deregulating shopping hours, which he said would be a “free-for-all” and benefit the “duopoly in this state” the most.

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Australia

NT Opposition ramps up calls for Chief Minister to handover documents to ICAC

The Northern Territory Chief Minister is under renewed pressure to allow the anti-corruption watchdog to access secret cabinet documents that were the subject of a “serious allegation”.

In a report tabled in parliament last month, Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Michael Riches, said he initiated an investigation after receiving a claim that a cabinet submission had been “edited” by a public officer “so as to be misleading to the true state of affairs”.

However, because current legislation prevents the ICAC from accessing cabinet-related material, Mr Riches said he “invited” then chief minister Michael Gunner to consider handing over the relevant documents.

Mr Gunner declined the request, which Mr Riches said was his legal right, but he added that doing so prevented further investigation.

Lia Finocchiaro at a press conference.
Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro has accused the Chief Minister of trying to avoid scrutiny. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

The Opposition has been calling for Ms Fyles, who took over from Mr Gunner in May, to handover the material, given she later agreed to grant the ICAC access to other cabinet-related documents that were the subject of a different allegation.

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Australia

Bail act, Crown Perth and Metronet top priority list as WA Parliament resumes after winter break

After a six-week winter recess, West Australian politicians will return to parliament today to start the last half of the sitting year.

Plenty has happened since they last agreed, including another COVID-19 wave and controversies involving the Agriculture Minister and Attorney-General.

Even still, the government insists a cabinet reshuffle is not on the cards, with its focus instead on five priorities for the 33 sitting days ahead.

At the top of their list for reforms are long-awaited changes to WA’s Bail Act, largely in response to the death of Annaliesse Ugle in 2020.

The 11-year-old took her own life after the man accused of sexual assaulting her was released on bail.

The reforms are currently sitting in the lower house and will change the act in a variety of ways, including when a person is charged with child sex offences.

A man wearing handcuffs
Labor will use its majority in parliament to pass long-awaited changes to WA’s Bail Act.(AAP Image/David Gray)

Once the new legislation is passed, anyone deciding bail in that situation will have to specifically consider a number of factors, including the “physical and emotional wellbeing” of the child victim.

Another provision will mean that where a child victim raises concerns about their safety and welfare if the accused is not kept in custody, the person deciding bail must be presented with that information by the prosecutor and take it into consideration.

When he introduced the bill into parliament, Attorney-General John Quigley said it struck the right balance “between elevating the voices and concerns of child victims of sexual abuse and maintaining the precepts of our justice system”.

Crown Perth reforms also high priority

It has been around five months since the WA government was handed the Crown Casino Royal Commission’s final report, containing 59 recommendations on how to clean up money laundering, criminal infiltration and problem gambling.

The first swathe of laws designed to start chipping away at those recommendations are yet to pass parliament but are on the priority list.

A sign showing the Crown Resorts logo in front of shrubs beside a road.
The reforms are aimed at tackling money laundering and problem gambling at Perth’s casino.(ABC News: Hugh Sando)

The bill is also still in the lower house, having been introduced just before parliament broke for the winter break.

Once passed, it will establish an independent monitor who will oversee the casino for a two-year remediation period, as recommended in the report.

Questions have been raised about the utility of that monitor though, with one gambling researcher raising concerns the casino would return to “business as usual” at the end of that two-year period.

The bill will also increase maximum penalties under the Casino Control Act from $100,000 to $100 million, and allow the minister to appoint an independent chair of the Gaming and Wagering Commission.

While there are more than a dozen other bills currently on the books for MPs to consider, the government is particularly keen to see three of them pass soon.

One will implement recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by requiring about 4,000 organizations to report allegations or convictions of child abuse.

The silhouette of a child sitting on a bed with an adult sitting alongside them.
The WA government is keen to push through a bill to provide greater protection to child abuse victims.(abcnews)

That is on the list to be debated in the upper house this fortnight, and once passed will also give the state’s ombudsman oversight of how those organizations handle child abuse complaints and allow for independent investigations.

Another bill will provide greater protection for owner-drivers and other small businesses in the road freight sector, including minimum periods for contract termination.

Finally, there’s a bill to allow for the construction of a number of Metronet projects along the Armadale Line, including removing level crossings and raising tracks, and extending the line to Byford.

An artist's impression of the exterior of a train.
Metronet projects along the Armadale line will benefit from the proposed legislation.(Supplied: WA Government)

Opposition piles pressure on ministers

While that is what the government wants to focus on, the state opposition is keen to keep the pressure on a number of ministers who have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons over the winter break.

Among them is Alannah MacTiernan, who apologized after what she described as “clumsy” comments about foot and mouth disease, including that if it landed in WA it could make domestic milk and meat cheaper.

Then there is Mr Quigley, who had to correct evidence he gave in the defamation case between Mr McGowan and Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer earlier this year.

It led to Justice Michael Lee describing Mr Quigley’s evidence as “all over the shop”, although he did make the point that “being a confused witness is a quite different thing from being a dishonest one”.

A tight head shot of WA Attorney-General John Quigley during a media conference.
Justice Michael Lee described John Quigley’s evidence as “confused and confusing.”(ABC News: Eliza Laschon)

Even still, it prompted Deputy Liberal Leader Libby Mettam to yesterday label Mr Quigley a “lame duck.”

“But fair questions could be asked of other members and ministers in the McGowan government cabinet,” she said.

Opposition Leader Mia Davies also piled on the pressure.

Head and shoulder shot of Mia Davies speaking outside WA Parliament.
Mia Davies says several WA ministers have fallen short of the public’s expectations in recent weeks.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)

“The Premier has an Attorney-General that is confused and confusing, an Agriculture Minister who has lost the confidence of the industry, a Health Minister that has overseen the highest ever ambulance ramping in the state, and a Housing Minister with no housing,” she said.

“It just doesn’t add up when you consider the strength of numbers Labor have in the parliament and the wealth the Premier has at his fingertips as Treasurer.”

Metronet ‘behind schedule and over budget’

Ms Davies said the opposition would also “maintain its focus on a Labor Government that is failing to deliver on promises made to the people of Western Australia”.

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Australia

Jacinta Price claims Peter FitzSimmons allegedly accused her of ‘giving racists a voice’ after refusal to support Indigenous Voice

Aboriginal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has alleged newspaper columnist Peter FitzSimons accused her of “giving racists a voice” during an interview last week.

Senator Price – who has refused to support the Albanese Government’s Indigenous Voice to Parliament – made the claims on social media on Sunday night after the interview between the pair was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper.

She told FitzSimons the bipartisan support was due to the “Kool-Aid Australians have been drinking” and defended One Nation leader Pauline Hanson who claimed the Voice was “Australia’s version of apartheid” and walked out of the Acknowledgment to Country.

In a Facebook comment, the proud Warlpiri woman alleged FitzSimons accused her of “giving racists a voice” during the telephone chat but it was not printed in the article.

“I don’t know if I’d do another interview with the bloke again. He accused me of giving racists a voice but that wasn’t printed,” Senator Price wrote before it was later deleted.

FitzSimons has denied all allegations made by Senator Price.

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She later elaborated and said the interview started off “quite well” before claiming FitzSimons became “aggressive, condescending and rude.”

“I’m not a wilting violet but he’s a very aggressive bloke, his interview style is very bloody aggressive, he doesn’t need to launch in,” she told The Australian.

“Accusing me of somehow giving power to racists because the issues I raise are confronting – he loses the point completely.

“I said to him, ‘Get down from the blood ivory tower and come out to one of my communities'”.

Senator Price also compared it to “having a conversation with a brick wall.”

FitzSimons was later contacted by the same publication that reached out to Senator Price for his version of events from last Thursday’s one-hour interview.

The author and columnist denied the allegations leveled against him and described the claims as “complete and utter nonsense”.

He said it was a “professional exchange” with the Senator and he had written “every single word recorded, as I told her.”

“Not even a raised voice. And she approved the entire final result,” he told The Australian in a text message.

“This is not remotely a matter of interpretation. Friendly interview, nice text exchange at its conclusion.”

Senator Price had been quizzed about the history of Australia, the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and her upbringing during the chat.

He asked how the advisory body would “drive a wedge between us all” after she argued in her maiden speech to Parliament in late-July it would divide Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians “further”.

“With a progressive mood sweeping the land, we’re far more unified now than we’ve ever been in our history, and the most prominent wedge, I respectfully submit, Senator, is people like you and your supporters,” FitzSimons posed.

“I don’t accept that,” Senator Price hit back.

“How is having a bureaucracy based on race placed into the Constitution, not driving a wedge? That peddles racial stereotypes of Indigenous Australians being a homogenous separate entity, and we’re not.

“They can call me a “coconut” – (black on the outside, white on the inside) – or an “Uncle Tom” because I’m expressing my views, but I don’t care.

“I’m an individual in my own right, with Indigenous heritage, but I am the first and foremost an Australian, and have no desire for the Constitution to treat me differently.”

She also defended Senator Hanson during the chat after she was quizzed about the One Nation leader’s maiden 1996 speech in Parliament.

“Does it not bother you that she is the most vocal critic of First Nations people in the country, and on this very day, she cites you as proof she’s right?” FitzSimons asked.

“No. I look further and a bit deeper than what is on the surface,” Senator Price said.

“And look, I know Pauline can certainly come across as though she is racist. But I don’t think that she is.

“I think she cares deeply for Indigenous Australians, and that her concern is more about taking more practical approaches towards solving some of our problems.”

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Australia

Law Society of SA calls for ICAC review over concerns rushed legislation fails the pub test

South Australian lawyers say “hurried” anti-corruption laws allow public officials convicted of certain crimes to charge taxpayers for their legal fees, and parliament’s handling of the laws “fails the pub test”.

Last week, an ABC exclusive report outlined the implications of a little-understood change to the state’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) Act.

The legislation was passed unanimously by South Australia’s parliament following less than 24 hours of debate last year.

It allows MPs and public servants to claim their legal costs back for offenses including deception, theft and dishonestly dealing with documents, because those crimes no longer fall within the ICAC Act’s definition of corruption.

Barrister and Center for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson last week said the public should be “outraged” by the provision, and he had “never heard of such a generous repayment scheme for government officials at the public’s expense”.

“In simple terms, a politician could be caught out in an act of corruption, defend it, be found guilty and be the subject of scathing observations by a magistrate, and then recover his or her costs for having unsuccessfully defended the matter,” Mr Watson said.

Geoffrey Watson SC
Center for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson said last week the public should be “outraged” by the provision.(abcnews)

In a written submission to Attorney-General Kyam Maher, the Law Society of SA said its Civil Litigation Council had examined the provisions to “provide some clarity”.

It found the reimbursement provisions applied at certain points in legal proceedings.

“A public officer who is the subject of ICAC investigation can only apply for legal costs that relate to the investigation itself, and NOT the costs incurred once charged, such as the costs of defending criminal proceedings,” president Justin Stewart-Rattray said.

“The Act does indicate that a person can also be reimbursed for any reviews or appeals arising out of an ICAC investigation.

“The Attorney-General has no discretion to deny reimbursement once the conditions are satisfied … [and] effectively, reimbursement is to be provided unless the person is convicted of an indictable offense that constitutes ‘corruption in public administration’.”

A man wearing a suit and colorful tie speaks to the media
The Law Society provided a written submission to Attorney-General Kyam Maher.(ABC News: Ethan Rix)

The Law Society said it had not formed a position regarding whether such reimbursement was appropriate or not.

It said strict secrecy provisions, “trifling or accidental” offending, and the financial burden placed on individuals “not wealthy enough to fund a private lawyer for prolonged periods” could be viewed as justifications for the provision.

“The Society notes that the question of whether such a policy should be adopted would be a matter for further consultation,” it wrote.

Parliament’s handling of laws ‘fails the pub test’

The Law Society again called for a full review of the legislation, following “extremely limited and inadequate consultation”.

“The Society is concerned by suggestions in recent media coverage that parliamentarians who voted for the ICAC reforms were not aware of or did not fully appreciate the effect of the provisions,” Mr Stewart-Rattray said.

“The Society believes a wider review of the ICAC Act would be appropriate, given other potential knock-on effects of the ICAC reforms that the Law Society has previously identified.

“The public should expect parliamentarians themselves to robustly discuss the merits of proposed legislation.

“When there is an actual or perceived attempt to hurry legislation through with minimal scrutiny, it tends to fail the ‘pub test’.

“But more significantly, it can lead to bad law.”

justin stewart rattray
Law Society of SA president Justin Stewart-Rattray has called for a full review of the legislation.(Supplied: Law Society of SA/Tom Roschi Photography)

Last week, both Premier Peter Malinauskas and Attorney-General Kyam Maher said they would seek further advice regarding the reimbursement provisions.

In a statement, a state government spokesman said: “The Law Society’s views on this matter will be provided to and taken into account by those advising the Attorney-General on this issue.”

Former Liberal MPs Troy Bell and Fraser Ellis are currently before the courts, charged over their use of the Country Members Accommodation Allowance (CMAA).

The scheme allowed regional MPs to be reimbursed for nights spent in Adelaide on official business.

Both are charged with deception offenses for allegedly claiming tens of thousands of dollars they were not entitled to.

Both MPs strenuously deny any wrongdoing.

Irrespective of the outcome in the court, they are eligible to claim legal costs.

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Australia

Liberal leader Peter Dutton pokes fun at new Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather after criticism for not wearing a tie in Parliament

Peter Dutton has mocked new Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather after he was criticized over not wearing a tie in Parliament with the Liberal leader declaring: “I’m just happy that the Greens were wearing shoes”.

Mr Chandler-Mather, 30, was preparing to ask a question about public housing on Wednesday when he was cut off by furious Nationals MP Pat Conaghan who called for a point of order saying: “I draw your attention to the state of undress of the member”.

Mr Conaghan later mocked the new MP further in a statement and said: “This is not a barbecue”.

“This is Question Time in the Australian Parliament. What next, board shorts and thongs? Maybe a onesie in winter,” he said.

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The Opposition Leader also weighed in on the tit-for-tat and poked fun at the Greens over the fashion choice.

“Well, I’m just happy that the Greens were wearing shoes,” Mr Dutton told Nine’s Today Show on Friday.

“I think that is a really very significant step forward. So, that was great.

“Sometimes we get away with shorts if we are on set, but, I mean, you guys are always well-dressed and you set the standard.

“We just want to follow the media celebrities. We are, as you know, we are in the ugly people’s show business, so, what can we do?”

But both Mr Chandler-Mather and Greens leader Adam Bandt failed to find the humor in the debate given the MP was asking the Prime Minister a question on public housing at the time.

Mr Chandler-Mather took to social media to express his concern that the “Coalition care more about ties” than vulnerable Australians waiting for social housing.

He was promptly supported by the party leader who mocked the Opposition for taking issue over a tie.

“A Nationals MP who hasn’t been wearing a mask all week just got angry that Max Chandler-Mather wasn’t wearing a tie,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Yes. That’s what the Coalition is angry about.

“The political establishment are completely out of touch with the struggles of working communities.”

Speaker Milton Dick promptly dismissed Mr Conaghan’s ire over the young MPs parliamentary attire at the time and permitted the member for Griffith to continue his question.

There is no official dress code in the House of Representatives with the rule book outlining “the ultimate discretion rests with the Speaker”.

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Australia

Sussan Ley criticizes Anthony Albanese for ‘hypocrisy’ after she was ‘shooed away’ during Question Time in Parliament

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has labeled Anthony Albanese a “hypocrite” after a “disrespectful” gesture from the Prime Minister in Parliament.

The members had gathered for Question Time on Thursday afternoon when the Labor leader briefly “shooed away” Ms Ley during a heated exchange.

The move caused uproar in the room and the Opposition then repeatedly demanded Mr Albanese to “withdraw” the “disrespectful” action.

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Ms Ley was questioned by Sky News Australia host Pete Stefanovic on Friday about what happened where she unleased on the Prime Minister.

“Yes, look, shooing motion across the table in the parliament, I can take the rough and tumble, every woman in this place knows how to do that,” she said.

“What I can’t accept is the hypocrisy.

“Anthony Albanese said it was going to be a family friendly parliament, there were going to be new notes of respect and this sort of sit down and shut up motion across the table to a woman who is speaking as she is entitled to in the Parliament , simply breaks all of his own rules.

Stefanovic then posed whether being “shooed was that bad”.

“Do you see it at any modern workplace? Do you see it in a boardroom?” Ms Ley argued, before the First Edition host agreed he would never make such a move.

Earlier, the Deputy Liberal leader was posed whether the passing of the Climate Change Bill in the House of Representatives will force their own party to change its targets.

The legislation – which aims to enshrine its 2030 and 2050 emissions targets – passed on Thursday in the Lower House 89 to 55 votes.

Ms Ley argued the Albanese Government had to focus on other issues that are currently affecting Australians who were struggling with inflation.

“Just remember, this was legislation that the government’s own energy minister said it did not need, spent half a day toing and froing in Parliament when the real issue this week is the rising cost of living and the government’s $275 of broken promises on power bills,” she said.

“That was the figure by which they said your power bill would go down. So, there was some grandstanding, sure, there was legislation that everyone agreed, including the government, wasn’t even necessary, and there was a deal with the Greens .”

Stefanovic then pushed again on how much the Coalition would lift its emissions targets after Australians resoundingly showed at the polls they wanted to see more climate action with nine teal independents voted in.

Ms Ley insisted there would be ongoing discussions about climate change and net zero, which the party has committed to before the election, but their first focus was on providing cost-of-living relief to households.

“We’ll be tuning in very carefully to the international situation because that’s what matters to Australians – how we keep their power prices affordable, how we don’t have manufactures that go offshore,” she said.

“How we actually, as the prime minister has often said, keep a strong manufacturing industry where Australia makes (its own) things.

“It won’t be if the energy prices continue to escalate, so right now, that’s our focus, not on legislation that the government admits itself was not actually needed, that is not what the Parliament is for.”

She added the Albanese Government are “off the training wheels” but they have not advocated for “real policies” to help struggling families and small businesses.

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Australia

As Victoria’s incarceration rate rises, children of jailed parents are ‘invisible victims’, report says

As Holly Nicholls grew up, her mother struggled to support the family while her father was in jail.

She was often forced to skip dinner or have toast as a substitute, and her family’s lack of money did not go unnoticed at school.

“Never having nice shoes, nice clothes, never getting your hair cut … and other young people notice that and then you cop the bullying,” she said.

Ms Nicholls’ father was incarcerated when she was young, meaning her family lived on a single income.

She said the stigma directed towards people who had been incarcerated was particularly confronting for children.

“They ask you questions like ‘is your dad a murderer or a rapist?'” she said.

“That’s really a full on thing to hear … because you still have that connection and love for that person and here people are in society demonizing them.”

Ms Nicholls shared her story as a report focusing on the way parental incarceration affects children was tabled in the Victorian Parliament.

A woman with dark hair speaking in front of microphones.
Holly Nicholls (right) says her father’s imprisonment marked her early life.(abcnews)

The report found the traumatic nature of parental incarceration could interrupt childhood development, a lack of support could contribute to intergenerational patterns of incarceration and that for Aboriginal families, separating children from their parents could perpetuate historical trauma.

It also highlighted that the number of parents being incarcerated in Victoria was likely to be rising in line with an overall increase in the number of people being jailed.

Children with parents in jail ‘invisible victims’

The committee behind the report recommended the Victorian government set up a dedicated unit to support those young people.

Crossbench MP Fiona Patten, who chaired the committee, said children with parents in jail were the “invisible victims of crime”.

“They serve a sentence alongside their parent, an experience which may affect them negatively for their whole lives,” she said.

Reason Party MP Fiona Patten
Committee chair Fiona Patten says it was a privilege to hear personal stories, including some from prison inmates.(Supplied)

The committee looked at policies and services for children affected by parental incarceration across the state.

The report outlined 29 recommendations, including reducing the number of parents serving time in prison, developing arrest practices among police that are more child-aware and improving consideration of children’s interests when sentencing parents.

Data is scarce, but it is estimated that about 7,000 children in Victoria have a parent in jail at any time and 45,000 will have a parent imprisoned during their childhood.

Aboriginal children are disproportionately affected by parental incarceration in Victoria, with about 20 per cent likely to experience parental incarceration compared with 5 per cent of non-Aboriginal children.

Inmates’ experiences considered by committee

Rachael Hambleton, whose father spent time in prison while she was growing up, said dedicated support for young people going through a similar experience was needed.

“There are lots of not-for-profits that are trying to gap-fill services that don’t really exist,” she said.

Ms Hambleton also said it was important to consider the greater issues at play in the justice system.

“We all want to see a reduction in crime,” she said.

“Incarceration increases recidivism, while many evidence-based holistic approaches have been proven to reduce it.

“It’s time we looked to what works and dared to dream bigger.”

Razor wire at a Brisbane prison
The committee heard from both inmates and prison officers.(AAP: Dave Hunt)

The report recommended setting up a designated government unit within the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to “design ways to help support children’s interests through their parent’s journey in the criminal justice system.”

In the report’s foreword, Ms Patten thanked those who shared their experiences as part of the committee’s work, which included inmates in Victorian prisons whose own parents had been incarcerated.

“We were told by individuals that they have been silenced from speaking about their experiences for so long because of stigma that they could only face and describe their experiences in late adulthood and did so, in some cases, for the first time to the committee, she said.

“We felt privileged to hear their stories.”

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