Politicians, chiefs of staff and other Parliament House staff could be fined up to $3 million or jailed for up to 15 years if they fail to report a worker’s complaint of sexual harassment, assault, discrimination or bullying, according to a staff consultation document leaked to this masthead.

Though the government’s proposed plan is laced with good intentions, it’s not realistic to society’s existing blind spots: namely, that victim-survivors are seldom believed.

The judge said Eryn Jean Norvill was a witness "prone to exaggeration and embellishment."Credit: James Brickwood

Many people who experience harassment or assault do not wish to seek criminal recourse for a number of reasons. Such wants, or needs, are not often as clear-cut – or as convenient – as society demands they ought to be. Presuming the wants of complainants can have devastating outcomes, as we saw with actor Eryn-Jean Norvill, whose informal complaint against Geoffrey Rush was made public without her consent and resulted in a highly publicised legal trial between Rush and the media outlet which published the allegations.

During the trial, Norvill’s barrister, Tom Blackburn SC, noted the impact of this presumption, saying, “She wanted her complaint to be kept confidential … she didn’t want to make a formal........

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