Anti-Discrimination into Anti Bullying Campaign - PAPER PETITION - 17 SIGNATURES
Principal Petitioner: Caleen Sorensen Karklis
Closing Date: 4.30pm, 10 June 2025
At 10 signatures, this petition will be considered properly made.
Petition Request:
Local and State Government must adopt Anti-Discrimination into Anti-Bullying Campaign.
Petition Response:
Thank you for your petition requesting Council adopt Anti-Discrimination into Anti-Bullying Campaign.
Your petition was tabled by Councillor Paul Golle at Council’s General Meeting on 18 June 2025 (Resolution 2025/137). Defined as operational in nature, the petition was referred to Council officers to respond on behalf of Redland City Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Louise Rusan. As you are the Principal Petitioner, Council provides this response to you.
Anti-Bullying Advocacy Campaigns
Council initiated an anti-bullying campaign following a Notice of Motion tabled at Council’s General Meeting on 18 December 2024 (Resolution 2024/28371). The Notice of Motion requested that Council develop and deliver a dedicated advocacy campaign to condemn bullying and inappropriate behaviour directed towards council officers and councillors. This campaign was aimed at reinforcing respectful interactions and highlighting the importance of safe, constructive engagement.
In June 2025, the advocacy campaign, Respect 4 You, Respect 4 Me, was formally launched. The campaign included a suite of digital and media assets and has since extended internally to other internal initiatives to support officers who may experience inappropriate behaviour while performing their duties.
This approach complements Council’s previous advocacy work which has addressed themes of respect, kindness and behaviour change. Earlier initiatives included Pledge not 2 Sledge, an anti-bullying campaign responding to increasing social media attacks, launched in March 2018, and Share Redlands Coast Kindness Instead, a Covid era campaign delivered in May 2020 encouraging local businesses to find creative ways to spread kindness while maintaining public health and safety requirements.
As an organisation and employer, Council takes its obligations under the Anti-Discrimination Act seriously, and a number of initiatives operate internally to ensure our teams understand discrimination causes and risks and take positive action to eliminate discrimination.
Council must also continue to consider core services and priority outcomes when allocating campaign resources.
I would like to advise that, after careful consideration, a campaign regarding discrimination in the community is not something Council is currently planning to develop and implement. However, Council may consider doing so in the future depending on several factors, including evolving Council priorities and budgets.
Please be assured that your petition has been noted and we appreciate your engagement with Council on local matters.
This response regarding the outcome of the petition has been sent to you as the Principal Petitioner and will also be published on the Council website so other signatories to the petition can view it.