Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

About two years ago, I went to Wanniassa School. It is a large school. It has a junior school, a primary school and a secondary school. It is in my electorate. I went there to speak to a number of young Canberrans who were taking part in a pilot program on cyberbullying. They talked me through the program, what they were doing and how it was enhancing their understanding of the risks that take place in cyberspace. When I spoke to them, I asked: 'Have you been a victim of cyberbullying yourself? Here you are learning all about cyberbullying and what you need to do to stay safe in that environment. Have you yourself been a victim?' I was absolutely shocked to find out that in the group that I spoke to—it was about 20 or 30 students—80 per cent of those students had experienced some form of cyberbullying. So it is with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to speak on the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Bill 2014 today, to join my Labor colleagues in supporting this legislation and to join those opposite in commending this bill to the House.

Cyberbullying is an issue that is only going to become more important as Australia and the world look further to technology. Cyberbullying can be targeted towards people from all walks of life, from the young to the old. It does not discriminate. It does not discriminate in terms of your address, how much you have got in your bank balance or what your level of education is, just as it does not discriminate in terms of age. The impacts can be far-reaching and permanent. Research shows one in 10 young people has been cyberbullied—and I would say, from the experience I had at Wanniassa School, the figure in all reality is far, far greater than that. And around 25 per cent of child suicides each year are due to bullying more broadly.

Cyberbullying can involve social, psychological and sometimes even physical harm. It often causes fear, shame, guilt, withdrawal, loneliness and depression. Cyberbullying can come in the form of abusive texts and emails—and we as politicians are kind of used to that. We get lots of abusive emails, texts, tweets and Facebook posts. It can also come in the form of deliberately hurtful images or videos, offensive online chat or gossip and excluding other people online. That is really where a lot of, particularly, teenagers are experiencing this. These gangs of people are created, these online virtual groups, and people are bullied by being excluded. It is kind of insidious. We have all been through it at school. We were excluded from particular groups, from the cool kids club—

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