Changes proposing to close a loophole allowing disgraced former judges to continue receiving taxpayer-funded pensions have been knocked back by government in a move independent Senator Rex Patrick warned was "turning a blind eye" to sexual harassment.
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A Senate committee tasked with reviewing the proposal, which would see retired judges stripped of their pensions if they were later found to have engaged in serious misconduct while serving as a judge, dismissed the bill in a report published on Thursday evening.
The government-dominated committee said it supported its intent but had concerns over whether it was the appropriate way to do it.
The proposed amendment, government senators said, lacked a clear definition on what was "serious misconduct" and cited potential constitutional issues in their recommendation to knock it back.
Its introduction follows a High Court inquiry last year, which found retired judge Dyson Heydon had sexually harassed six female associates. Mr Heydon has denied the allegations.
The bill's architect, independent Senator Rex Patrick, said closing the loophole for disgraced former judges was a good first step to addressing sexual violence in the federal legislature.
He added there would be little hope for the government overcoming the "deep-seated political culture of cover-up and concealment" unless it first addressed the issue.
"It's important that the parliament send a clear signal that sexual harassment and other unacceptable behaviours will not be tolerated in any workplace," Senator Patrick told The Canberra Times.
"There should be no legal loophole that would allow perpetrators to avoid the consequences of their actions in the office simply because they reached retirement.
"If the government cannot support reasonable changes to my proposed bill, they really would be continuing to turn a blind eye to sexual harassment."
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Senator Patrick said he was hopeful amendments to the bill could be achieved quickly with Labor, leaving just the government to do "the right thing".
Labor senator and committee deputy chair Kim Carr said the opposition supported Senator Patrick's bill provided it had amendments to clarify definitions and considerations to broaden the reforms.
Mr Heydon retired as a High Court judge at the age of 70 in 2013. He was later appointed by former prime minister Tony Abbott to head the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
Former Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon urged his party colleagues not to support Senator Patrick's bill in a caucus meeting in December 2020.
He said the move could be perceived as payback for Mr Heydon's inquiry into the unions and the targeting of former opposition leader Bill Shorten.
Mr Fitzgibbon, who was the party's sole dissenter of the bill, added revoking Mr Heydon's pension could set a precedent for removing parliamentarian pensions.
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