Thanks to the Minister. I didn’t hear an answer to my question there, except I think it was a no. But the Minister said that the amendments that have been developed are dealing with stuff that falls within his department, but I’m sure that this issue was discussed at Cabinet before the amendments were brought forward. So I still put the question out there: How is this government going to address workplace bullying, because it does exist there, and how is this government going to address bullying that happens outside of our schools?
One of the things that is quite evident when you look at the literature around bullying, is that bullying is the result of a problem; that an individual has a difficulty, that they have run into some kind of maybe it’s a mental health issue or another issue, and it needs to be addressed. The root causes of bullying are something which are not really spoken about.
I’d like to ask the Minister what are in the plans of the Education department if these amendments are passed. What are the plans of the department to address the root causes for victims, for bullies and for bystanders? Thank you.