MEMBER for Murray Helen Dalton says she never would have survived being in Parliament if she was “sensitive”, as former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick’s “pretty damning report” paints a workplace culture rife with bullying, sexual harassment, intimidation and sexual assault.
The landmark review was released publicly last Friday, with Mrs Dalton being among the almost 30 per cent of NSW Parliament employees who took part. In her submission to the inquiry, Mrs Dalton said she had been bullied during her time as an MP.
“I know just with my own experience with bullying, that it seems to be a normal behaviour as a politician,” she said.
As someone who is not a career politician, but rather a farmer and retired teacher, Mrs Dalton said she entered Parliament expecting it “to be better than it was”.
“There’s certain things where you think that politicians should set the standard. But the standards were incredibly low at times. And I will often say, because I’m a past teacher, you know, they talk about kids in the playground and, how it can be a bit rough in the playground,” she said. “Well, it’s kids that are incredibly well behaved in the playground compared to to what happens in Parliament House.”
Mrs Dalton said that when she felt she had been bullied “there didn’t seem to be any accountability or a mechanism to report these things.”
As much as she has been bullied by others during her time as an independent, Mrs Dalton, said she also “certainly experienced bullying” from her former Shooters and Fishers colleagues. It is the closest that she has come to understand the culture of the major parties.
“I think in the major parties it’s far worse and it’s almost accepted,” she said. “If you want to progress, you get on with it.”
Question time is one of the worst culprits for allowing members of Parliament to speak to each other rudely, according to Mrs Dalton.
“Question time is just at times outrageous. I’ve heard John Barilaro calling the opposition, at least a couple of times, f******* and the Speaker asking him to retract it and he didn’t retract it until the following day,” Mrs Dalton said. “All those sorts of things going on and there are schoolchildren, in the public gallery listening to all of this. And I cringe at times, you know.”
Mrs Dalton said a majority of her colleagues wanted the best for their electorate and it was the idea of needing to defeat the enemy that helped create the toxic culture in State Parliament.
“Most people are having a red-hot go and want a better deal and just to be able to work together and achieve that,” she said. “But instead there’s a culture in Parliament where you’ve got to smash the opposition or get in front of them or do what you have to do to get what you want.”
Mrs Dalton said she thought it was “appalling” that only people who were able to stomach abuse were able to “survive”.
“We’ve all got something to bring to Parliament,” she said “I don’t think that should be a criteria where you’ve got to put up with this rot to be a good MP.”
Change will be required after this report, she said.
“I think the Coalition are really in turmoil at the moment in New South Wales and I think if the Premier wants to hang on, he’s got to be seen to be doing something positive.
“He’s got to be seen to be addressing those major issues,” she said. “I think that if you ignore this this report, it will be at your peril.”
