DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:20): Yesterday I spoke to the house about the importance of community involvement in reducing domestic violence and the need to recognise that domestic violence is not just something that happens in a home between family members and that should be left there; it is something that the whole community is affected by and can in turn influence the way in which domestic violence, which is a vicious form of bullying, is accepted or not accepted in the community.

I indicated that I have hopes that South Australia will lead Australia, and indeed the world, in reducing domestic violence because of the effective action it is taking in relation to bullying. I cited a study by Professor Donna Cross from Edith Cowan University, which showed that South Australia has the lowest rate of all forms of bullying across Australia (22 per cent compared to 27 per cent) and the lowest rate of covert bullying in state schools in the nation (11 per cent compared to 17 per cent).

South Australia, I believe, was also the first state to introduce bullying specifically as an issue in the workplace, through actions taken through the health and safety legislation and in the standardisation of health and safety legislation across Australia. The preservation of the South Australian provisions in relation to bullying was an important issue.

I would like to address today the fact that this lowest rate of bullying in South Australia has not just come about by accident. The promising results in South Australian schools are the result of consistent action led by the Rann government. Professor Cross says that she believes that one of the reasons that South Australian schools have the lowest level of bullying is the collaborative actions undertaken by the Coalition to Decrease Bullying, Harassment and Violence in South Australian Schools. This is chaired by Janine Harvey, the Assistant Director of Child and Student Wellbeing in DECS, and its membership includes national and international experts (Professors Rigby and Slee and Drs Spears and Yoneyama), together with representatives from the three schooling sectors and a representative from the South Australian schools.

Professor Cross is of the opinion that the work that this group is doing to provide active support to schools is enabling our schools to deal better with this problem. It is very important to mention that bullying in schools does not just come about because of the schools. It happens in the community and is brought into schools, and with modern technology is taken more rapidly from schools out into the community.

Some of the actions that have been taken by the Rann government include the introduction of primary counsellors into our primary schools. My recollection is that the gradual introduction was one of the first initiatives of the Rann government where primary school counsellors were introduced to schools in disadvantaged areas. Since the Rann government has come to power, the number of attendance counsellors has also increased. It is now 24 compared with, according to my recollection, six in 2002.

We have regional support services that support teacher behaviour consultants in schools. We have child and student wellbeing policy advisers, and there is a special initiative to enable country schools to access funds to enable programs to be accessed by teachers in country schools. We have established a range of training packages for leaders in schools, teachers and SSOs working in schools. One of the programs we have initiated—and it is particularly appreciated in my schools—is the SMART program which provides training in understanding the impact of abuse on students. I commend these initiatives to the house.