Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Bill 2014. I would like to note the children in the upstairs glass gallery here today. The bill we are discussing today is all about you. It is about protecting you and your friends online.

When I speak to principals and head masters of the schools within my electorate of Lindsay, they overwhelmingly cite the rise in cyberbullying as one of the greatest issues that they now see in so many school communities. Many have commented on the change in children's behaviour over the years. For instance, in the past it was quite easy for kids to pass notes. For school principals it was quite easy for them to control the environment inside the school yard. Now they are looking after environments outside the school yard, where much of cyberbullying takes place.

Parents need to know that their children are safe. This bill will see the establishment of a children's e-safety commissioner and a two tiered system for the rapid removal of bullying material from large social media services. For those who post bullying material, the commissioner will be given powers to deal with them also, and there will be a clear hierarchy to deal with the issue. It also sends a message to kids that bullying has consequences. It sends a flag that making fun of others is not harmless; it hurts.

Parents in my electorate of Lindsay are telling me that this is an important step in bringing cyberbullying under control. Debbie O'Connor, a mother of two, actually works in the social media sphere and owns a social media business. She said, 'I think that the online safety bill is not just a great idea but a necessity. I note that the majority of the focus is on children, as it should be.'

I have limited my son to Instagram and Kik, as I am concerned about how many platforms he could be involved in and how I could manage the monitoring of them. I have a rule with him that he needs to hand over his iPad whenever I ask him to, to do spot checks on both apps. I seem to be far more vigilant than many parents who tend to turn a blind eye as it is all too hard and confusing for them.

Debbie sees that part of her job as a mother is social media management. She says: 'I know how hurtful and damaging fleeting comments on social media can be.' You need only see comments on Facebook, feeds from different news stations or pop culture sites like Mama Mia to realise that people who say things about others on social media would probably never have the guts to say those things to their face.

My view when it comes to social media is that it is like leaving your child alone in a crowded shopping centre. You would always want to know where they are and who they are with. The same goes for social media. I tell my son that if he is not prepared to have it put on a billboard over the highway, then he must not post it. For some reason, some kids and parents think that posting to social media is private and that it allows them to say and do things that they would never dare say in public. I keep telling my son that once it is posted it is accessible forever for anyone to see whenever they want to. All of his accounts are set to private so he only has access to those he knows.

However, a recent incident had a number of us parents concerned, when a school friend had her identity duplicated on Instagram. Her girl's name and images were used to create a new account. Her friends thought that she had just started a new account and instantly started following it and allowed 'her' access into their accounts until inappropriate content started being posted. A friend notified the girl, and her mother immediately pulled her Instagram account down. This is not an isolated incident, and parents and children should have a place to go where they can report this type of activity. Debbie said: 'I fully support this bill as I think that it is more accessibility to the internet, more apps and mobile devices that is the problem.' And it is only getting bigger and bigger.

And it is not only Debbie that sees the problem. In fact, in 2011, students from 23 Sydney schools were in Lindsay holding a conference on cyberbullying. The keynote speaker, Professor Donna Cross, Director of Edith Cowan University's Child Health Promotion Research Centre, told that conference that not only was the issue affecting one in 10 Australian children but the problem was in fact growing. She went on to say that, while traditional forms of bullying, such as physical violence, were decreasing, the incidence of cyberbullying was increasing at the rate of two to three per cent a year. She cites that part of the reason for this growth is a perception that the bullies can hide—the power to bully anonymously. And my fear is that growth in cyberbullying could see incidences double.

Across the UK, police commands put the rate of cyberbullying at one in five—one in five in the UK. That is phenomenal. Last year, a report from a study at the University of New South Wales titled Research on youth exposure to, andmanagement of, cyberbullyingincidents in Australia found:

The estimated number of children and young people aged 8–17 who have been victims of cyberbullying in Australia is around 463,000, of whom around 365,000 are in the peak age group of 10–15 years old.

And to the children in the top gallery: that is your age group.

Former Family Court of Australia Chief Justice, Alastair Nicholson, speaking at a 2013 conference on the issue, said that current laws provided little guidance about how bullying should be handled. He went on to say:

The legal duty of schools, teachers, parents and guardians, as well as others in positions of authority, is not currently clear.

Appointing a Children's e-Safety Commissioner will also help focus the issue. It will also be a specific authority to deal with cyberbullying and, most importantly, will give authorities a clear approach on how the issue will be dealt with.

Chris Webster, who has lectured to schools right across Western Sydney, notes:

Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies—

put simply—

… "bullying for the 21st century using email, text messages and the internet". Recent polls have shown that one-third of teenagers have had mean, threatening or embarrassing things said about them online. It has the same kind of insidious effects as the traditional form of bullying, "turning children away from school, friendships, and in tragic instances, life itself."

Chris notes that from his research, the best way to combat cyberbulling is awareness of the issue itself. Take the computers out of the children's bedrooms, and bring cyberbullying into wider conversation within the family.

I believe a dedicated Children's e-Safety Commissioner will help lift the profile of this issue. I think there are some programs in the community and some good work being done. But the evidence would suggest those programs and that work needs the support of a dedicated body—and the Children's e-safety Commissioner will provide this. Some of that work has been undertaken by the Australian Communications and Media Authority through its Cybersmart Outreach program. It has been running since 2009. They visit schools and have so far met with an estimated one million students, parents and teachers. Part of their work is in providing presentations on how to recognise cyberbullying and, more importantly, how to stay safe online. They also provide schools with lesson plans, videos and classroom activities. It is a very worthwhile program.

The Children's e-Safety Commissioner will still be within the ACMA. However, this bill provides for an independent statutory office to be created within the organisation. In simple terms, rather than it being a small branch within the ACMA, it will be afforded its own department specifically focused on cyberbullying issues. And it will also have teeth, along with $7.5 million in funding to ensure this organisation can perform its charter. Part of that is the power to demand that offending material be taken down by the service providers and the power to issue a summons to offenders. As a body it will be equipped to handle complaints and provide better outcomes for those involved.

Penrith City Council is very active in trying to combat cyberbullying in our region. In fact, every year they run programs for Safer Internet Day on 11 February. In general terms, they work with local police on the issue. But they also offer resources to explain issues—from cyberbullying to sexting, digital reputation, unknown contacts in social networking, identification theft and illegal content. According to local police:

Often cyber bullying escalates from conflict that begins in a school environment. The content of cyber bullying messages are taunting and insulting and often result with similar messages being sent back.

While these matters cause a significant amount of stress and anxiety for the victims and parents, the actions rarely amount to a criminal offence.

I think that will always be the case. At the end of the day, you are dealing with adolescent minds. You are dealing with kids who act first and think later. Often the taunting takes place out of spite and without thinking through the consequences.

A Children's e-Safety Commissioner will act as a new circuit breaker—somebody who has the legally binding power to confront cyberbullies head-on and show them the seriousness of their actions, somebody who can force cyberbullies to appropriately respond to their actions and somebody who can take the issue to the Federal Court if the cyberbully refuses to cooperate. A new commissioner can also reinforce police measures to combat the issue and, in particular, re-affirm police advice that, if children are being bullied online or by mobile phone, they should (1) tell their parents, (2) tell their school, (3) tell the site and (4) tell the police if it escalates to threats of violence.

Locally, schools have been active in trying to combat cyberbullying. For instance, Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School recently developed a stage play, Cyberbile, by playwright Alana Valentine, about online bullies and their victims. It was made into an event and performed at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith. They have identified that cyberbullying can start with something as small as someone chatting online about how someone dresses, speaks or even moves, and, at its worst, it can lead to suicide. A local year 11 dancer in the play, Charlotte Campbell, said at the time, 'It's very powerful and up-front about issues that society doesn't mention.' Again, this emphasises why the appointment of an independent Child e-Safety Commissioner is so important. It provides the chance to get this onto the table and out in the open.

This is a great piece of legislation, as it provides certainty and capitalises on the excellent work already carried out by authorities. It is important to strengthen measures to fight cyberbullying. This bill is about helping children to find their way through this problem, giving people help and providing hope to families.

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