Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

In what has become a cruel reality of the social media world we live in, the word 'bullying' is now trending. The convergence of these two terms highlights, in my opinion, the sad state of affairs we have reached. While the social media revolution is providing us with opportunities in business and in play, there are certainly concerns about how it is affecting people throughout our society. I am sick to my stomach every time I hear about yet another young life ruined or ended by the fallout caused by online bullying. I am not alone either, with dozens adding their voices to the public debate since the tragic death of Amy Jayne 'Dolly' Everett last month. Dolly's sad story has become an icon for the devastating effect that bullying can have on a family. To lose such a vibrant soul, so young, with so much life yet to live, is shocking to the rest of us just as it is to her devastated family. As a mother of two daughters, my heart breaks to imagine what Dolly's parents have been through. If it is possible to take a positive from such a disaster, it is that this tragedy has spawned something of a groundswell—a movement powered by a collective mindset that says, 'Enough is enough.' We have to do something and we have to do something now.

Just days after Dolly's death made global headlines, a concerned mother in my electorate of Capricornia had a similarly chilling experience. This mother, whom I will refer to as 'Katrina', had been aware of a certain level of bullying being aimed at her daughter but was certainly not prepared for the shocking discovery that awaited. Katrina's daughter initially had harassment directed at her on the live video platform 'live.ly'. It then moved to Sarahah, which she said almost every young person in her daughter's social circle had downloaded. Sarahah is marketed as a feedback app, allowing customers or clients to provide anonymous comments about a business or a service. It can, unfortunately, though, be used to direct abuse at people, providing the bully their perfect tool. The cloak of being anonymous provides a perfect cover for the cowardly attacks of a bully. Katrina said, 'When she was told to kill herself, I couldn't sleep, I was so worried about her. It was when I was lying awake at night that I knew I had to take action and wrote the petition.' Katrina says social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and smaller developers, need to take more responsibility in the fight against cyberbullies and uncovering the perpetrators. She said, 'They can't hide behind privacy concerns and it's up to them to track down the perpetrators. Surely it's not that hard for them.'

I would like to emphasise my absolute support for Katrina in her fight to have this realised. I have met with her personally and am in awe of her passion and her success in relation to her petition. Katrina's change.org petition calls on Apple and Google to stop providing anonymous apps like Sarahah. The petition launched with the goal of reaching 5,000 signatures. Today, Katrina's petition now has over 204,000 signatures. This just shows how important this subject is to people.

Bullying does not just affect our kids, either. Men, women, boys and girls—we are all at risk of having bullies try it on. If there's one line of work that places you at risk, it's working in this place, but, as I've said before, I'm old enough and tough enough to deal with it, or ignore the slings and arrows, and I know that anonymous comment isn't worth reading. The sad fact is, though, that not everyone has this knowledge. For some, a simple insult can cut to the core. I am committed to doing what I can to provide leadership and a listening ear when it comes to how we tackle this insidious problem. A world where cyberbullying is a historical term is a world I want to be part of, and it starts here today.

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