Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I join with the member for Mitchell in speaking to the report of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety High-wire act: cyber-safety and the young.

The internet and modern information technology have become an invaluable resource in today's fast-moving world. Regrettably, those resources can also be used for wrong purposes, sometimes causing irreparable harm to others. Cybersafety is very important for all those who enter the online environment. It is vital to making this environment safer for all users, particularly for young Australians. There are risks to all users in the online environment, but some reporting can be sensational. It does not concentrate sufficiently on measures that can easily be taken to reduce those risks.

The major focus of this inquiry was cybersafety for young people in the online environment. Consultation with them was a priority, and an online survey was devised to ensure that they had the opportunity to give us their views on a range of issues. We were surprised by the response to our 'Are you safe?' survey. A total of 33,751 young people completed it and many respondents provided useful additional comments. We have made extensive use of these frank, revealing and sometimes disturbing comments. This inquiry received 152 submissions and 16 supplementary submissions. We relied heavily on these submissions in framing our conclusions and recommendations.

We took evidence from a wide range of people and organisations with an interest in cybersafety. They included the represe­ntatives of the information and communications technology industry and Facebook, academics and researchers, a range of Australian government departments and agencies, and state government education departments. Non-government organisations working with young people, professional bodies and unions, represent­atives of parent and carers, as well as several corporations and content providers also gave evidence. It became clear that there is a need for more education on a range of cybersafety issues. A great deal of material that would reduce online risks is available from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, for example. It is based on sound research and on consultation with young Australians.

The existence and availability of this material is clearly not well known in the community. We have recommended that it be made more accessible through a central portal—and I thank the member for Mitchell who referred to this in his remarks—and that this portal be publicised through a national campaign. While children as young as four and five years of age are being introduced to the online environment, cybersafety educ­ation does not begin in schools until they are six or seven. We have recommended looking at the feasibility of providing this education in preschools and kindergartens. It is clear that cyberbullying is a major and serious issue in Australia but that it is not well understood. At this point, it has not even been satisfactorily defined. We have recommended that an agreed definition of cyberbullying be developed and adopted by all Australian government departments and agencies.

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