Respect at Work Bill - Parliament House, Canberra
Mr Speaker, there are some basic yardsticks by which any civilised society should measure itself.
One of them is that everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace.
And yet here we are, nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, still working towards this goal.
The fact that workplaces have not been safe or respectful for so many Australians is unacceptable.
As is the fact that the previous government dismissed this goal as impractical, not worth striving for. That what we had was somehow good enough.