Higgins appointed to key role

CANBERRA: Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has been given a key role in designing a code of conduct covering Parliament House and parliamentary workplaces.

As the inaugural Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Ms Higgins will work on the code to prevent and respond to abuse, harassment and sexual misconduct.

She will also work on implementation of the landmark RespectWork report and promote the importance of young women’s leadership.

ANU is the first university in the world to partner with the original Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, established and led by former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Ms Gillard said Ms Higgins was ‘‘a powerful force for change who had already greatly advanced the national conversation and push for reform in one of the most confronting and urgent issues Australia faces’’.

GIWL director, Professor Michele Ryan, said young voices like Ms Higgins’ were fundamental to driving change.