A bully-free state means a crackdown
MENTAL Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff is to be commended for vowing to make Tasmania a bully-free state, starting with his parliamentary colleagues (“Let’s be nicer,” Mercury, July 26).
Recognising that bullying, including cyber-bullying, is a workplace and a community issue, will the Minister and the Premier also vow to rid ministerial offices and the state service of bullying behaviour and actively encourage their associates in the community to do likewise?
The use of social media by
Rosemary Sandford
ministers, advisers and their colleagues in political, business and community arenas is now regarded as a primary means of communication with a wide range of stakeholders. However, it can be open to abuse. We are all aware of instances of social media being used to denigrate and humiliate those with different points of view.
The Criminal Code Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2019, debated recently in State Parliament, should send the message that bullying, including cyber-bullying, is no joke. Under the Government’s proposed legislation it will be a criminal offence.
Social media is one of the most influential phenomena of the 21st century, as demonstrated during this year’s federal election campaign. This campaign showcased some of the less edifying aspects of social media. Political candidates of dubious views and differing political persuasions were disendorsed, although their names remained on the ballot paper.
Election campaigns are not the only sources of disrespectful and untrue comments perpetrated by those who wish to advance a particular, often selfinterested, point of view. Some community sources are equally guilty of using social media to divide rather than unite the community.
It appears that some social media sites purporting to be community sites may, in fact, be privately owned businesses. They are often “closed” sites and function like a private club. That is, they determine who can access the site and what is posted, or not. This ensures that only views that agree with those of the owners are allowed.
Local commentator and former Liberal party adviser, Greg Barns in Rise of the Right: The War on Australia’s Liberal Values and Turkish author Ece Temelkuran in her book How to Lose your Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship, both comment on the influence of social media in the move to the Right of the political spectrum and the dangers this poses for contemporary democracy and civil society.
Tasmania will not escape unscathed. Examples of risks to our democracy include: delays up to three years in
obtaining information under the state’s Right to Information (RTI) legislation; the lack of transparency in statewide planning and fish farm approval processes; fasttracked land rezoning; and state government intervention in decision making with regard to favoured developments in national parks and irreplaceable public open spaces.
The Lake Malbena development and the kunanyi/ Mt Wellington cable car come to mind. For the Government to say it operates at armslength from such decisions via independent bodies is disingenuous, as many a public servant can attest.
The ploys of special legislation and ministerial prerogative to protect projects deemed by the political elite to be of “State Significance” or similar, are actions more suited to an oligarchy than a democracy.
Tactics such as these are unworthy of a civil society where different beliefs, be they political, religious, racial, gender or environmental, are respected.
The government of the day should strive to reflect and honour, not deride nor ignore, the values and wishes of its citizens. The tapestry of difference is what makes our state special for both residents and visitors.
Unfortunately, in the tussle for the hearts and minds of Tasmanians, the State Government frequently uses the media, including social media, to advance messages of division, and to promote opportunities and prosperity for a minority at the expense of an increasing number of disaffected and disadvantaged Tasmanians.
Are Barns and Temelkuran on the mark? Are we at risk of losing our state?
Or, just perhaps, might Minister Rockliff’s commitment to make Tasmania a bully-free state and the Government’s antibullying legislation, be the first steps in helping turn the tide towards a more civil and democratic Tasmania? Hobart’s Rosemary Sandford is a former ministerial adviser, public servant and academic.