Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

CRIMES AMENDMENT (BULLYING) BILL 2011
1550 COUNCIL Tuesday, 31 May 2011
cause the victim to harm themself, and aligns with the
expanded description of relevant conduct.
Finally, the bill expressly provides that for the purposes
of this offence in the Crimes Act 1958 ‘mental harm’
includes psychological harm and causing a victim to
engage in suicidal thoughts. As it stands, the Crimes
Act 1958 does not define the term ‘mental harm’.
Bullying, by its very nature, is calculated by the bully,
who will often be in a position of power over the victim
in which they make the victim feel worthless and
powerless. The bill does not confine itself to bullying
that occurs in relation to situations of power imbalance;
rather it occurs under section 21A(2) of the Crimes Act
1958 in relation to any offender and in any
circumstances that:
… could reasonably be expected —
(i) to cause physical or mental harm to the victim, including
self-harm; or
(ii) to arouse apprehension or fear in the victim for or that of
any other person …
That is what section 21A(2)(g) of the Crimes Act 1958,
being inserted by clause 3, will say.
Sometimes a sense of despair can lead a victim to act
out by harming themselves. This amendment clearly
spells out that mental harm includes psychological
harm and causing a victim to have suicidal thoughts.
The bill also amends the Stalking Intervention Orders
Act 2008 to allow potential victims to apply to the
Magistrates Court for an intervention order to address
serious bullying and to prevent it from occurring. I
touched on the importance of this earlier. This is in
conjunction with other amendments that the
government will introduce in other pieces of legislation
that will encourage the earliest possible intervention in
these cases. This will give victims the power to reach
out and protect themselves from someone who has
started to display serious bullying conduct towards
them.
By extending the Stalking Intervention Orders Act
2008 in this way a breach of any such intervention
order can then be charged as a separate and further
criminal offence. As I said earlier, bullying is not
confined to the workplace, but the bill recognises that
the circumstances that occurred in Brodie’s case and
that occur in many other cases can have their origin in
the workplace. In this regard we remind all employers
and employees of their responsibilities. Everyone has a
right to feel safe and free from violence, harassment
and intimidation in their workplace. It is the
government’s opinion that a bystander who stands back
and watches serious bullying occur without intervening
is as guilty as the bully themself, particularly if their
behaviour is encouraging or intimidatory. The
government refuses to be a bystander.
A question was put to the minister during a hearing of
the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee about
JobWatch, and I will allow the minister to answer that.
It has never been the government’s intention to disband
that important organisation, and we put that notion to
rest. We are intervening on behalf of the victims of
bullying by saying enough is enough.
In closing I commend the Attorney-General for
bringing this bill forward in a timely manner. I
commend the bill to the house. I recognise the
continuing pain that will be suffered by Brodie’s family
and friends for the rest of their lives. I note that whilst
justice has come too late in relation to Brodie Panlock’s
case, hopefully this bill will prevent future incidents
from occurring for the rest of Victoria.
I also note comments that have been made that this bill
could be a model piece of legislation for other states,
and I urge those states to watch the passage of this bill
and work with the Victorian Department of Justice to
assist in implementing their own legislation at the
earliest possible opportunity.
Mr ELASMAR (Northern Metropolitan) — I also
rise to speak on the Crimes Amendment (Bullying) Bill
2011. Schoolyard and workplace bullying and
cyberbullying appear to be a widespread phenomenon
these days. Bullying is increasingly being brought to
the attention of the public. No-one in the Victorian
community thinks that bullying is okay. It is not okay.
It can precipitate mental illness, physical injury and in
some extreme cases even suicide.
We all know about the tragic death of Brodie Panlock.
My deepest sympathy goes to her family, relatives and
friends. This 19-year-old woman was so intimidated
and humiliated that her life became so unbearable she
took her own life. At that time there was no-one in the
justice system to whom she could turn to protect her
from intense harassment by people who should have
known better.
This bill codifies bullying as a criminal offence with a
maximum jail term of 10 years. Bullying not only
affects the victim; it also affects the victim’s family
and, in the end, the community as a whole. The bill
calls for a criminal code to be enacted to protect fragile
members of the community from serious bullying, and
in doing so it strengthens the existing stalking law in
the Crimes Act 1958.