Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last week, I met a very passionate woman named Liz Walker. Liz is helping families locally and around Australia start a conversation with their children in schools about pornography and the potential effects, like social or sexual pressures, that pornography may have on young children. As more and more children grown up with a smartphone in their hands, or a tablet, internet safety is a very real issue for many people.

The internet is an incredible resource, with 90 per cent of Australian parents agreeing their children benefit from being online. Yet 60 per cent say their child is exposed to risk from being online, with the greatest risk being accessing inappropriate content. It is very important that we talk to our children about internet safety. I encourage parents in my electorate of Petrie to check on their kids whilst online every now and again to make sure that they are safe, playing age-appropriate games and viewing age-appropriate websites.

There is some great information for parents at esafety.gov.au, so go onto this website and learn about the different techniques. I would encourage children to talk to a trusted adult, if they see something that they do not think is okay. Thank you to Liz and the porn harms kids network for the work you do in our communities.

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