Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion, and I would just like to take a moment to commend the great work that the member for Forrest does in educating young people. The member for Forrest is saving lives, absolutely. I also commend the member for Forrest's work in advocating very strongly in this parliament and ensuring this parliament knows the importance of keeping our children safe online.

The Nick Xenophon Team was also instrumental in bringing about Carly's Law with the government. We worked very closely with the government to ensure Carly's Law got through the parliament, because Carly was a bright and beautiful young girl in my electorate and she had her life taken away from her. That was 10 years ago. She was 15 years of age. The member for Forrest has already told Carly's story. It was a 50-year-old paedophile who lied to her. He was pretending to be a sensitive and charismatic 18-year-old musician, but he was not.

The problem in that case is that, until the passing of Carly's Law, none of the murderer's online behaviour was illegal. When this paedophile was finally arrested for Carly's murder, detectives found him at home chatting to a 14-year-old girl in Western Australia using one of 200 fake online identities he'd created to meet young girls. Carly's Law makes it an offence to prepare or plan to cause harm, procure or engage in sexual activity with a person under 16 years of age, and this includes lying about your age online as part of that process.

Earlier versions of this bill were introduced by my colleagues, former senators Nick Xenophon and Skye Kakoschke-Moore. The government's version of Carly's Law was achieved in consultation with my former Senate colleagues, with the aim of avoiding any of the unintended consequences raised during the Senate inquiry process in relation to those earlier versions.

Carly's Law closes some identified gaps in existing legislation. Just a month after this legislation was passed last year, police in South Australia arrested a man who was allegedly pretending to be a teenage girl online in order to groom a minor. Through this law, we have prevented harm to at least one child, and I have no doubt we have given police another tool to prevent harm to thousands more.

Carly's Law is a legacy, and it's just part of the work accomplished by the Nick Xenophon Team in supporting the Carly Ryan Foundation, which, month after month, is cobbling together pennies so that they can continue the great work that they do. This foundation was set up by Carly's mother, Sonya, in 2010 to raise awareness among young people of online dangers. It is an organisation run entirely by volunteers. Sonya gives presentations at schools and is often approached by young people to share their online experiences. I have been present at some of those presentations and you could hear a pin drop in the room, which is quite unusual in a room full of teenagers. Sonya does what she can to support young people and she steers them in the appropriate direction for help. Fortunately, there is more assistance today, including the Australian Federal Police cyber safety program ThinkUKnow, and it is, indeed, an excellent program. But governments can only do so much.

A fortnight ago, I was invited to the official launch of a new business in my electorate, called Cybersafe Families. Cybersafe Families is operated by Chris and Michelle Greene from the Adelaide Hills. They draw on more than 20 years of experience working in the education, counselling and technology sectors. They draw on their experiences as parents. Cybersafe Families provides a range of education, training and counselling services to help young families, and it has been certified by the eSafety Commissioner.

Government has an important role to play in cyber safety awareness, but parents need to step up too. As a parent, I know it's not always easy. Years ago, when my children were young, we were told to keep the computer in a safe place. We were told to tell our children about stranger danger and about ensuring that in the park they weren't talking to strangers, but ultimately, with iPhones, we are letting strangers into our homes. That has happened in my family too, with my daughter singing into a hairbrush and putting things on YouTube to share with her friends. I had to have that very awkward conversation with her about who exactly is watching and what their intentions were.

So I would like to close by commending the member for Forrest for what she is doing with this, and I hope that we continue to keep these conversations going in the parliament. We must remain ever-vigilant, as members of parliament and as parents, in ensuring that our most vulnerable young Australians have a safe and secure and happy childhood.

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