Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for her question and her concern about the very serious issue of bullying, and bullying in schools in particular. Of course, schoolyard bullying is as old as schoolyards themselves. But, of course, we see advances in relation to the problems of schoolyard bullying as a result of the advent of the internet and the reality that bullying in schools can now, tragically, follow children home in a whole variety of ways, into their lounge rooms or into their bedrooms, and follow them 24 hours a day.

That's why it's so important that last Friday, 16 March we held the eighth national day against bullying and violence. The Turnbull government has consistently supported this and has committed further support to ensure the continuance of this day into the future. We are very pleased that there was record participation last Friday, with almost two million Australian school students—and I acknowledge the many school students who are in the gallery today, from the national constitutional convention, who I know would acknowledge that this is a critically important issue. Nearly two million Australian students took part in the national day across nearly 4,600 schools. These numbers, importantly, were more than double last year's participation level. It demonstrates the effectiveness of our call to action to Australian schools to do more to engage, and to talk more about this important issue.

Senator Hume, in your home state—and yours as well, Mr President, through you—more than 315,000 students across 702 schools participated in this day. It's a day in which we acknowledge that there is no single silver bullet, but it allows school communities, encompassing parents and students, principals and teachers, to all come together to address the multifaceted approaches to raise awareness, to make sure that they are aware of the resources available to talk about bullying and to combat bullying, and where, of course, to take concerns and seek help when required. It was very important, and I was delighted to join schools— (Time expired)