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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2142 ..

MS FOLLETT (continuing):

Page 2, line 29, clause 4, under the definition of "harm to mental health", omit the words "but does not include distress, grief, shock, fear or similar emotions".

My reason for moving that, Mr Speaker, is that it is my view that psychological harm could include any of those emotions, and those emotions repeated over and over again can constitute damage to mental health or psychological harm, so I do not want those emotions eliminated from the assessment of the harm caused by stalking. I accept Mr Humphries's point that we are dealing here with serious harm to people, but I think serious harm could well be caused by repeated fear, by constant fear, by constant distress. It is certainly a cause for harm to people's lives. It denies them sleep. It denies them enjoyment of their normal lifestyle. It can cause them economic harm by them having to move jobs, by having to move house, and so on. So I believe that we should not define out emotions like distress, grief, shock, fear and so on as components of harm to mental health. I commend my amendment to Mr Humphries's amendment to the Assembly.

Amendment (Ms Follett's) agreed to.

Amendments (Mr Humphries's), as amended, agreed to.

MS FOLLETT (11.28), by leave: I move:

Page 2, line 28, clause 4, proposed new paragraph 31A(3)(e), insert the word "intimidation," between the words "to" and "harassment".

Mr Speaker, as I said before, I accept fully Mr Humphries's view that we should not create two offences, one of stalking and one of intimidatory acts. The amendments which have now been passed by the Assembly as a consequence of Mr Humphries drawing the matter to attention mean that the definition of stalking as it appears in the Bill does not include any notion of intimidation. I believe it is appropriate that our definition include intimidation. I am therefore moving that the word "intimidation" should be included in the definition of stalking so that it now reads that a person shall be taken to stalk another person if he or she "engages in conduct amounting to intimidation, harassment or molestation of the other person". I think it is pretty much self-explanatory, Mr Speaker, and I commend it to members.

MR OSBORNE (11.29): I will be very brief. I would like to express my support, especially of this amendment, because I think that stalking, more than anything, is about intimidating the other person. Only yesterday I had a meeting in my office, as did Mr Moore, I think. Ms Follett spoke to the same person, who I was quite surprised to realise was being stalked by someone you would not think would be a stalker. I support Ms Follett's Bill and I wholeheartedly support this amendment because, as I said, I think it is all about intimidation. I would like to offer my support.

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