I believe women who make allegations of sexual harassment. I know what it’s like to experience it, and I know how angry and ashamed it makes you feel.

These women are made to feel like they are putting at risk their personal and professional reputations to speak up and protect other women, and they do it anyway.



They’re heroes, and I believe in heroes.

The Greens are champions of media and the arts. I’m proud to be a member of a party that recognises the value of Australian stories as more than economic – they are a reflection of who we are and what we believe in.

The richness of our shared identity is diminished if only some of us feel safe to contribute to it.

I’ve been staggered by the scope and scale of sexual harassment and abuse in the media industry that has been revealed over the last week.

Some of what’s been reported has been an “open secret” for decades. From what I’ve been told, there’s plenty yet to come. I’ve been told directly from women in the industry that these stories are credible, commonplace and even widely known.

And while the revelations to date have focused on high-profile media personalities, I don’t think this is a problem for the media industry alone. Don Burke’s alleged behaviour is a problem, but he isn’t the problem.

This is a problem that transcends individuals and industries. Right across the country, women are hearing these experiences and recognising in them their own.

Hundreds of thousands of women working across Australia – in newsrooms and nightclubs, in hotels and hospitals, in law firms and laboratories – have their own Don Burke moments.

But the media industry is different. The media industry exists as an interaction between the artist and the audience. It’s the role of the media to say something to that audience and to say something that matters.

It’s a tremendous power to be able to help shape how a nation thinks of itself. It’s a tremendous responsibility as well.

That’s why, while the media industry might not be the worst offender, we need it to be the best responder. It cannot continue to be a culture where there’s no penalty for sexual abuse but there’s a penalty for drawing attention to it.

It cannot be a workplace that treats the price of success as silence.

It’s important to ask why these stories are coming forward now, of all times. Some of the events are alleged to have taken place decades ago. It’s not like these women have only now remembered what they went through.

In the interim, these women – and it is almost entirely women – took it on themselves to warn new recruits with whom not to share an elevator. From whom to politely refuse a lift home after work. From whom a hug is not just a hug.

They shared their warnings in secret because those with power didn’t want to use it to help those without it.

What’s happening now is a seismic shift in strength. Women in the media industry are supporting each other to take back power and turn it against those who have abused it for so long.

What we’re seeing is that when somebody comes forward, they embolden others to do the same.

What they’re doing takes courage. They’re strong, and they’re brave, and they’re remarkable. They are giving a masterclass in leadership by sharing their stories, using the power of the media to hold the powerful to account.

We learn through stories. They’re an insight into what we treasure and what we fear. They’re a window into what entertains us, what inspires us, what angers us and what shames us.

In sharing their stories, these brave women are also telling us something about ourselves.

Their stories matter. Their contributions matter. They’ve got things to say that we don’t get to hear when it’s only safe to whisper.