Liberal backbenchers Katie Allen and Sarah Henderson call for drug and alcohol testing in Parliament House

Two prominent female Liberal backbenchers are calling for politicians to be drug and alcohol tested as part of wider workplace cultural reforms at Parliament House.

Key points:

During their appearance on the ABC’s Insiders program, Katie Allen and Sarah Henderson referenced the Safe at Work Report when talking about how to create a safer environment for women at Parliament House.

During the interview, Senator Henderson said she had heard talk of drug use within political circles.

“MPs and senators are not that special; we are here to serve the community, and I’ve heard a few rumours about drugs,” she said.

“I haven’t heard [that allegation levelled against] anyone in particular, but I’m just hearing a bit of scuttlebutt, and we need to be the best possible workplace.”

When asked by Insiders host David Speers if they would support drug and alcohol testing for MPs, both women said they would.

“I have heard of people talking about how they drink because it helps them stay up at night … I sat in an emergency department as a young doctor through the hours trying to stay awake — having a drink is not what you do,” Dr Allen said.

Dr Allen also floated the idea of banning alcohol at Parliament House altogether.

“We need to have at least responsible drinking. But even ministers have said to me, ‘You know what Katie, I think even a dry environment might not be a bad thing for Parliament.'”

‘Lack of professionalism’ in Parliament

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is currently conducting an independent inquiry into Parliament House’s workplace culture. It was sparked by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins’s allegation a colleague raped her in a ministerial office.

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Commissioner Jenkins said submissions to the inquiry would be welcomed from political staffers and others around Parliament House, such as people who worked in the gardens or in cafes.

Dr Allen said she was appalled by the “underlying lack of professionalism” in the building.

“Clearly what’s happening in the past six weeks is pretty shocking for someone like me,” she said.

She suggested several changes to the workplace culture for politicians, including a reduction in the sitting hours for MPs and senators.

“It used to be in the House of Reps you’d sit all night,” she said.

“It’s been reduced to stop at 8:00pm. It could come back to 7:00pm or even 6:00pm, which means that people could go home and have a bit more of a normal lifestyle.”

Both women said they generally had positive personal experiences in politics.

But Senator Henderson admitted she experienced social exclusion at work, echoing comments made by government minister Karen Andrews last week.

“We are spending far too much time in our offices alone and not engaging with our colleagues where a lot of the discussions happen informally about things we could do better — about policy, about ideas,” she said.

Senator Henderson also said there were not enough women being pre-selected by the Liberal Party to winnable seats, but said she was “lukewarm” about quotas.

“Quotas do not cut out the bad behaviour,” she said.

“It’s not just about getting women into Parliament; it’s about keeping them.”

Dr Allen said the Liberal Party needed to introduce quotas for women and multi-culturally diverse people in any candidate-training programs the state parties ran.