analysis
Should wearing a tie be compulsory in the ACT Legislative Assembly? Newly-elected Thomas Emerson doesn't seem to think so
In short:
Newly-elected MLA Thomas Emerson caused some furore this week when he turned up to day one of the ACT's Legislative Assembly without a tie.
It prompted the speaker, Mark Parton, to warn against the "dramatic decline" of dress standards in the assembly.
But is it time to get with the times, and ditch the tie altogether?
In the ACT's Legislative Assembly this week, speaker Mark Parton called out new independent MLA Thomas Emerson, for not wearing a tie.
"I don't wish to be the presiding officer of this place, at a time when the dress standards dramatically decline," he said.
"But I also don't wish to make a ruling as a speaker, that a member cannot participate in proceedings should they not be wearing a tie.
"I would ask members, if you were invited to speak at a black tie function, would you choose to attend wearing smart casual clothing? Are you bigger than the function, or is the function bigger than you?
Independent Kurrajong MLA Thomas Emerson on his first day in the ACT Legislative Assembly, sans tie. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
"But Mr Emerson has given me his assurance that he'll always wear a nice jacket and shirt, as he has today.
"I certainly don't want to see people turn up to this chamber, to quote the Nationals MP Mr Conaghan, dressed like they're heading for a barbecue."
Mr Parton was, of course, referring to when Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather rose to speak in question time in federal parliament wearing a shirt and no tie.
He was criticised at the time by Pat Conaghan but — as it is in the ACT's Legislative Assembly — parliament does not have a specific dress code for members.
In both cases, the decision over whether a member's dress is 'appropriate' rests with the Speaker.
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Most male MLAs in the assembly's history have worn a tie — with occasional exceptions made by the likes of Greens leader Shane Rattenbury — but Mr Parton clearly did not think Mr Emerson's crisp white shirt and jacket hit the mark.
And while Mr Emerson was permitted to stay in the room, Mr Parton's remarks show there's an expectation of acceptable attire in the Legislative Assembly.
Politicians 'a barometer of business dress'
History shows us that the clothing choices of politicians reflect the fashion trends of the time, and are carefully scrutinised.
In this case, it's what constitutes business attire, and whether a tie has to be part of that.
"This idea of what's suitable for politicians to wear is a fascinating one," Dr Lorinda Cramer, a fashion historian at Deakin University, says.
"Politicians have, for better or worse, become something of a barometer of what is considered or perceived to be professional business dress at a particular moment in time.
"If we think back to the 1970s when MPs were in keeping with the time, they were able to wear safari suits to parliament. A safari suit without a necktie was officially considered business attire."
Liberal Member for Berowra Philip Ruddock wore a 70s-era safari suit for charity in the chamber at Parliament House in 2015. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
While there's no dress code per se in the ACT's Legislative Assembly, members are expected "to adopt the requirements imposed by the House of Representatives".
In 1983, Speaker Harry Jenkins set the standard of dress in the House of Representatives at "neatness, cleanliness and decency".
But fast forward to 1999, and Speaker Neil Andrew referenced the tie as part of "generally accepted" clothing in business and professional circles, recommending "good trousers, a jacket, collar and tie for men, and a similar standard of formality for women".
This was further reinforced in 2005 by Speaker David Hawker, who reminded members "to dress in a formal manner in keeping with business and professional standards".
This is not unusual. Looking outside of Australia, last year the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution formalising a business attire dress code, after one particular senator kept wearing shorts and a hoodie to work.
That dress code stipulates, for men, the wearing of a tie.
Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi was ejected from New Zealand Parliament for not wearing a tie. (Youtube: TVNZ)
On the other hand, New Zealand's parliament removed the requirement for men to wear ties in 2021, after Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi was ejected from the debating chamber for wearing a traditional pendant instead of a tie.
"He really evocatively described the tie as a colonial noose, and said that his greenstone pendant for him represented his neck tie," Dr Cramer recalls.
"He was later readmitted back in, so ties in particular, I think, have become something of a flashpoint around this idea for professional dress."
But where did this idea that ties are an essential part of business wear come from in the first place?
How did ties become part of business attire?
Lorinda Cramer is a social and cultural historian, with a special interest in fashion. (Penny McLintock: ABC News)
In the late 19th century, ties were "an expected part of menswear" — regardless of the occasion.
"Men had very few items of clothes in their wardrobe. It wasn't like now, where we have a huge range of, for example, leisure wear," Dr Cramer says.
"Leisure wear wasn't really a thing in the 19th century, so you would have been wearing ties on picnics to the beach and so on, together with a suit and a shirt."
By the early 20th century, men's dress reformers started to think about wearing clothes more suited to the activities they were undertaking, Dr Cramer explains.
"So, for example, if they were labouring outside, did they need to wear a shirt? And could they possibly strip back down to their shirt sleeves, to maybe even shorter sleeved shirts, or to even singlets?" she says.
"One of the things that they were really conscious of was the idea that, you know, ties tightly tied around the neck were really quite stifling on a hot summer's day."
Mark Parton was elected Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly for this term, and said he did not "wish to be the presiding officer of this place, at a time when the dress standards dramatically decline". (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)
Ties remained a fixture in indoor, office jobs - perhaps, until now.
Business attire has become more casual in recent years, particularly in our post-COVID world.
"That was, I think, a real flash point when people started to think about, can we work better in more comfortable clothes, in cooler, looser clothes?" Dr Cramer says of the pandemic.
"And I think the answer was, yes. The work that people actually produced was just as strong as if they were wearing, you know, a business suit or a pair of tracksuit pants.
"Heading to work this morning [on] Collins Street in Melbourne, one of our finance districts, there were very, very few men wearing suits with ties."
Is it tie-m for change?
So if ties essentially evolved out of the everyday fashion landscape in the 20th century, could the same thing happen now in the assembly?
After all, members are expected to dress in keeping with "business standards", and those standards are changing.
"I really love this idea of neatness, cleanliness and decency, but of course, what that [looks like] does change over time," Dr Cramer says.
But that doesn't mean dress codes should be done away with altogether.
Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, outside the ACT Legislative Assembly, sans tie. (ABC News: Elise Pianegonda)
"I think dress codes can be very useful in a professional or business setting, because they say something about the person who's wearing that clothing," Dr Cramer said.
"Aligning yourself with those codes does speak to a certain kind of respect for your work, for the people that you're interacting with, and so on.
"But I also think that there's the potential in this particular moment, to start to challenge those long-held dress codes, that perhaps don't make as much sense now as they did 50 years ago, particularly in our post-COVID world."
Mr Emerson said "most of the people I'm elected to represent aren't out wearing ties". (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
It seems Mr Emerson has taken up that challenge - and his constituents don't mind at all.
"I think most people aren't concerned with it, and most of the people I'm elected to represent aren't out wearing ties," he told ABC Radio Canberra.
"I actually had someone after in the city ... saying on my way home, thank you for taking the lead on not wearing ties.
"The feedback I've had regarding the situation is that most people want the assembly focusing on more pressing matters than what everyone's wearing in the chamber."