‘They're not taking the concerns of women seriously': Brittany Higgins slams Crisafulli govt

The Age

20-05-2025

Sexual assault victims advocate Brittany Higgins has taken aim at the Queensland government over its latest delay to workplace safety law reform, as it seeks further consultation.
Higgins accused the Crisafulli government of not taking the concerns of women in its state seriously after it pushed back legislation, part of broader changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act.
The Respect at Work reforms were passed by the previous state Labor government, and were set to introduce a legal obligation on the public and private sectors to do all they could to eliminate discrimination and harassment.
But Attorney-General Deb Frecklington last week confirmed the implementation of the laws would be paused to allow more consultation and policy work.
The laws were scheduled to start in July.
In a statement, Higgins, a former federal Liberal political staffer, said the Queensland government had 'indefinitely paused the 'positive duty' workplace sexual harassment laws that were set to come into effect this year'.
'There has been extensive community consultation over the years,' she said.
'Pausing this legislation indefinitely, without any clear explanation, just further proves that the state government isn't taking the concerns of the women in their state seriously.