Mr LITTLEPROUD (Maranoa—Leader of the Nationals) (09:28): I thank the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition for their statements, and the Nationals stand in solidarity with them. It should never be lost on anyone who serves in this parliament the crucial role that this place occupies within the fabric of Australia's identity and its conscience. This building is the heart of our nation's democracy. It should always be a place where upholding safety, fostering respect, promoting equality and embracing diversity are the centre of what we do. As MPs, we have the unique privilege of being the elected custodians of these values—values which need to be followed and upheld. It is for this reason that Parliament House should be the safest building to work in in Australia. This place should set the essential and moral standard for our decency and for how we treat, interact and work with one another. When it was published in 2021, the Set the standard review into Commonwealth parliamentary workplacesby the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, made for difficult reading. Since it was published, the Nationals and the coalition have worked in genuine faith with all other political parties to implement the recommendations of this review. I want to acknowledge the members of the Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce in handing down their first annual report on the progress of these recommendations. This House appreciates all their hard work, commitment and advocacy. It's as simple as this: every person deserves to belong in a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace. This is a responsibility that the Nationals take seriously, and I want to mention some key areas where we're achieving major inroads. In particular, the Set the standard report outlined the need for political parties to deliver a gender balanced and diverse cohort of MPs and staff. On this benchmark, I'm pleased to advise that the Nationals' proactive efforts to strengthen, encourage and foster a positive political environment—one which empowers and supports more women to participate in our party—is already making a real difference. Right now, our federal parliamentary leadership team includes Senator Perin Davey as deputy leader and Senator McKenzie as our leader in the Senate. Importantly, women are driving our party forward in the other chamber, with four of our six senators being female. We have achieved this on our longstanding principle of selecting and endorsing candidates based on merit. Also welcomed into our Senate team is Jacinta Price, a strong Indigenous woman who is making an enormous contribution. Today, the federal management committee of the Nationals includes seven women in the 16 voting positions, which includes the senior positions of federal president, federal treasurer, federal secretary and policy committee chair. Also, the Federal Women's Council and Young Nationals presidents are all full and active participants of this management committee. Supporting diversity in all its forms is a commitment of the Nationals, and it's a quality that our party celebrates. Our party has a rich diversity of members and staff from different socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds, life experiences and professional skills that we are immensely proud of. As a snapshot, in our federal parliamentary team we have elected representatives from backgrounds that include cropping and livestock, manufacturing, journalism, local and state government, policing, regional finance, small business operation, education, accountancy, social work, agricultural science, the performing arts, as well as an economist, a barrister and a doctor. In our party right now, moves are currently underway to develop a more systemic approach to candidate identification and development, which is happening in partnership with the state divisions. One of the key goals of this measure will be to reflect the rich diversity of the communities which the Nationals represent. A terrific example of this was the tremendous success at the recent Victorian election, where the Nationals secured an extra three lower house seats, two of which were won by women. This was in addition to an extra upper house seat, also won by a female Nationals candidate. This means that 53 per cent of our state parliamentary team in Victoria are women. Other state and territory branches are also taking effective action. In New South Wales nearly 40 per cent of our state national colleagues are women. In the Northern Territory, Lia Finocchiaro is the Leader of the Opposition and, at the time of her election, was the youngest MLA in the history of the Territory parliament. As a united team, the Nationals are committed and determined to build on this momentum and to help secure positive, long-term, meaningful change. So, as we move forward together, the Nationals will continue to work in close partnership with all political parties in a genuine and sincere bipartisan spirit to ensure that our workplaces are safer and more respectful for everyone.