Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017, which strengthens the laws keeping children safe online. I acknowledge the contribution by the previous speaker, the member for Mayo, particularly because of its personal nature for her and how close to home this is for her. I also acknowledge the Nick Xenophon Team for the strong stance they have taken on this.

As its name suggests, this bill is about protecting children, which is fundamentally what we are here for. Every law we pass, everything we do is done either to benefit or to protect our kids. The internet has brought about much change to the world. We can access almost any information within a few clicks of a button. The internet has been a great tool for education, particularly for students learning by distance in regional Australia, like my daughter. Children have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. They were learning in ways that were not possible a few years ago. Kids today are sharing like they have never shared before. Many of us have children who seem to spend every moment texting or otherwise using their phones or watching videos on laptops. Eighty per cent of teenagers have a social media account. Half of them have been using it since the age of 10. Over 80 per cent of teens use the internet three or more times a day, mostly during the hours from when they get home from school to when they go to bed. Ninety-six per cent of Australian households have wi-fi, giving children the ability to use the internet from their bedroom.

While mobile phones and computers are good if used for the right reasons, they make our children more vulnerable to unsavoury people who would never be let inside the family home. The nature of social media is that we can talk to people without truly knowing who is behind the screen. The anonymity of the internet has created new opportunities for predators to target innocent children. Every week, we see another report in the news of some perverted individual going after a child. Parents across Australia were horrified earlier this year when they read about a man pretending to be a pop star, who asked an eight-year-old for nude images, and the story of the 39-year-old man attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl at a Victorian public pool. Only recently, we saw that a convicted killer had lured a Sydney teenager, using the internet, to the United States.

Social media can be a very dangerous place for children and young people. Internet safety groups warn parents to limit what they share about their children online, because they fear it could fall into the hands of sex offenders. These sites have few safeguards that prevent predators from finding and contacting potential victims. A survey conducted by the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner found that five per cent of kids aged eight to 13 and nine per cent of teenagers have been contacted by strangers online. Seventeen per cent of teenagers said that they had been exposed to inappropriate content while using social media. Worryingly, the internet makes it easier for predators to connect with each other. There are now sick communities on the internet that share images of child abuse and encourage others to do the same. These recent changes in technology require us to take a smarter approach to child safety. This is why the measures included in this bill are so essential.

As I am a father, there is nothing more important than keeping my children safe. Like every parent across this country, I was sick to my stomach in 2007 when I heard about the case of Carly Ryan, a 15-year-old girl from South Australia tragically taken before her time. Carly was brutally raped and murdered by a 50-year-old man posing online as a teenage musician. Her story is beyond every parent's worst nightmare. Her mother, Sonya, has gone through an ordeal most of us can never imagine. Many of us would feel helpless in that event, but Sonya has shown a great deal of bravery and courage. Since her daughter's death, she has worked tirelessly to change the law for the better. I wish to acknowledge Sonya Ryan and thank her for all of her effort. Her advocacy is an inspiration and something we can all learn from. We owe it to her and to Carly's memory to do all we can to prevent this from ever happening again.

The new offence, called Carly's law, will introduce tough new measures for people preparing to cause harm to a minor. This law will make it a criminal offence to prepare to procure or engage in sexual activity with a child. These measures are absolutely vital for police and law enforcement agencies. Police should not have to wait until it is too late to stop a cyberpredator. This bill gives them greater powers to intervene earlier, before the child is put in harm's way. Carly's law will allow law enforcement agencies the ability to investigate as soon as someone shows signs of being an online predator. The police can take action against these people sooner rather than later. There is no requirement to prove intent to commit the ultimate offence of harming or engaging in sexual activity with a child, only intent to prepare to do so. With this, we are sending a strong message to predators: if you plan to harm a child, you will receive the full force of the law. The maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment will be a strong deterrent to all who seek to prey on vulnerable children.

But we know it cannot stop here. The community expects the government to do all it can to make sure our kids are safe on the internet. The Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice have announced tougher criminal responses and more support services for victims. I wish to thank the member for Stirling for his work in this area.

The Australian Federal Police are partnering with international law enforcement agencies, like Interpol, to combat the scourge of child sex abuse around the globe. The AFP work closely with state and territory police agencies, under the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team, to direct anti-child-exploitation efforts across Australia. The ThinkUKnow program is an education initiative run by the AFP that teaches school students and parents about cyber safety. Topics covered include online grooming, sexting, privacy, identity theft and fraud. In 2015-16 they delivered 386 presentations to more than 10,000 parents, carers and teachers across the country.

The federal government is taking a leadership role in combating online safety. In 2015, the Attorney-General established the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner to provide education to Australian children and young people. There is currently legislation before the House to expand the role of the commissioner to provide online safety support to all Australians. Last year, the government established the national working group on child sex offenders to provide advice on how to improve existing measures. The working group, in collaboration with the National Child Offender System, is examining ways to improve current operational procedures so there is a coordinated national response to child sex offences. Its members include senior people in the police and legal community, who have first-hand experience dealing with child sex crimes across the states and territories. Child sex crime is a national issue that requires a national solution. I look forward to reading the working group's findings.

The Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017 sends a clear message: planning to harm or sexually exploit Australian children will never be tolerated. I say this as a former police officer and as a father. Just as in real life, kids should be allowed to be kids. They deserve to grow up in a safe community, free from predators trying to take away their innocence. These are sensible measures to tackle the new challenge for police and law enforcement agencies. Any improvement in the law that helps police detect what are the scum of the earth who walk amongst us, those who seek to take advantage of our most vulnerable and most precious, our children, is a good thing. We owe it to the memory of Carly to stop these depraved people from ever getting their hands on a child. I welcome this bill as part of the government's broader effort to tackle child abuse in all its forms across Australia.

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