Australian government won't accept grieving family's anti-bullying petition — because it's online

The family of a 14-year-old Australian girl who died by suicide after being cyberbullied is facing a second, bureaucratic, nightmare.

Local news channel 9NEWS reported Saturday that Melinda and David Graham, who have gathered more than 25,000 signatures supporting stronger anti-bullying legislation since their daughter, Jessica Tolhurst, died in December, have been told their petition is no good — all because it’s online.

The petition calls to criminalize bullying and cyber-bullying, including bullying that results “in psychological harm” or incites “suicide and self-harm.”

"We've been told that after we got the nominated amount of signatures that it is no good, and they want hard copies," Graham told 9NEWS.

The situation is an example of how some governments remain behind-the-times when dealing with their constituents. It's a stark contrast to places like the United States, where the White House has pledged to respond to any online petition submitted on its "We the People" platform that earns more than 100,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, the New South Wales government has conceded that its "traditional rules" about requiring paper signatures has failed to keep up with the rise of social media and online advocacy, and said it is “open to members of the Legislative Assembly to consider changes to the rules for petitions,” 9NEWS reported.

Until changes are made, Jessica's parents are prepared to collect signatures on paper.

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