Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

CRIMES AMENDMENT (BULLYING) BILL 2011
1552 COUNCIL Tuesday, 31 May 2011
understand that they are a big part of life and it is very
easy to press the button.
In the place where I live, in the Macedon Ranges shire,
the Live4Life mental health initiative and the CyberLife
pilot project are excellent examples of school and
community partnerships. If we are truly to combat
bullying in our communities, it needs to be a
partnership and all of us need to take responsibility.
This legislation goes a long way towards addressing
that, but there are a range of issues we need to address.
The CyberLife project tackles the issue of cyber safety
and ethical digital citizenship in the classroom and the
community by developing the practical tool kits of
parents, teachers and most importantly our young
people to enhance their interpersonal skills within an
online context. CyberLife promotes responsible
conduct, effective conflict resolution techniques,
managing your digital footprint, developing empathy
for others and enhancing an understanding of self. It is
the aim of the project to minimise the frequency and
severity of cyberbullying incidents and increase the
resilience of those who may encounter such
experiences.
I strongly support the introduction of Brodie’s law.
There need to be serious consequences for this type of
abuse, but let us not stop here. This is everybody’s
responsibility. Bullying is endemic in all layers of our
community, whether you are an employee or an
employer, a parent or a teacher, a young person or a
peer of a young person.
There is no doubt that legislation needs to keep up with
community concerns. The type of bullying we were
exposed to when we were younger was significantly
different from what we see today. Communication
between young people today means that cyberbullying
can occur 24 hours a day. Bullying now heads home
with young people and continues on their mobile
phones, iPods and laptops, which many use in the
privacy of their bedrooms. Despite no-phone policies
which exist in many schools, it occurs on their mobile
phones in the classroom and out in the schoolyard. I
encourage all of us to consider the investment at the
prevention end to include school and community
partnerships.
Last week 120 year 7s from my electorate were asked
to list the three most important issues impacting on
their lives as 13-year-olds. It was not surprising to see
bullying come in as no. 1, followed by peer pressure
and family break-up. As adults we all have a
responsibility to protect our children. They are telling
us that bullying is a major issue, so I do not want to let
them down. The Baillieu government has made this
commitment today, and I ask that all people in this
house support this most important bill.
Ms MIKAKOS (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to
speak on the Crimes Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2011,
which is supported by the Labor opposition. As
members of this house would be aware, this bill has
come to be known as Brodie’s law, in memory of
Brodie Panlock, a 19-year-old woman who tragically
took her own life after enduring countless acts of
relentless physical and psychological workplace
bullying by three of her coworkers. I too wish to
express my sincere sympathy to the family and friends
of Brodie Panlock.
I think it is important for members to reflect on the
seriousness of the bullying that Brodie endured. Brodie
worked as a waitress at a cafe, and the coronial inquest
found a shocking case of abuse. WorkSafe Victoria
found that she had been subjected to persistent physical
and psychological bullying that included direct verbal
insults, degrading sexual comments, offensive
comments about her appearance and direct physical
bullying.
The horrific acts of bullying that were involved in this
particular case made me reflect on the seriousness of
the case and how, as a society, I believe we all failed
Brodie. It is a tragic reminder of the serious
consequences that bullying can have on the victims,
their families and the community. The four men
responsible for bullying Brodie, including the then cafe
owner, were fined a total of $335 000, which is a small
price to pay for someone’s life. Whilst fines were
issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
2004, no criminal charges were laid under the Crimes
Act 1958 and none of Brodie’s tormentors received a
custodial sentence.
Whilst arguably the existing stalking provisions set out
in the Crimes Act 1958 are broad enough to include the
type of behaviour that Brodie endured, no charges were
in fact laid, and that brings us to the legislation that is
before the Parliament today. The opposition supports
the bill insofar as it seeks to put the question of the
scope of the Crimes Act 1958 beyond doubt and
strengthen its existing provisions.
The bill seeks to make changes to amend the stalking
provisions in section 21A of the Crimes Act 1958 to
include the offences of making threats, using abusive or
offensive words or performing abusive or offensive acts
as part of a course of conduct that may constitute
stalking. It also adds the notion that acting in a way that
could reasonably be expected to cause physical or