Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion put forward by the member for Forrest and recommit Labor's pledge to work collaboratively to keep our children safe and, in this instance, particularly online. As we've heard, the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill that was passed by members in this place last year has, sadly, a long and painful history to its becoming law in this country. The bill, known as Carly's law, is the result of the tragic tale of Carly Ryan, who, at the age of 15, was lured by online predators to her tragic death. She was found murdered in Port Elliot on 20 February 2007. Carly's story is truly heartbreaking. At the sentencing of Carly's murderer in 2009, her brave mother, Sonya Ryan, told the court about the last time she saw her daughter alive in February 2007. The court heard Carly told her mother she was going to stay with a friend for a couple of nights. Sonya said her daughter hugged her four times and called out 'Love you!' as she walked away from their Adelaide Hills house. Since that time, Sonya has been at the forefront of a mission to keep Australian kids safe online, and this bill is just one of the many accomplishments she's made during that time.

This bill will now allow police to intervene to stop an online predator at an earlier stage and thus play a greater preventive role. It also amends the Criminal Code to insert a new offence of an adult using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to, engage in sexual activity with, or procure for a sexual activity a person under the age of 16. This is the fifth version of Carly's law that has been introduced to parliament, with the previous four attempts at legislation having been introduced by the Nick Xenophon Team, who are to be commended for their commitment to Sonya Ryan's cause in this bill. I also acknowledge and want to pay tribute to the dedication shown by the member for Forrest and her continued work for this cause over an extended period of time, and I know she has given hundreds of cybersafety presentations to schoolchildren.

The challenge of keeping kids safe online is by no means a small task. The stats on online safety are scary. There is a 50 per cent chance that if your child is in a chat room designated for underage children the stranger he or she is talking to is a sexual predator logged in under a false identity. Sexual predators especially enjoy the use of private messaging, private chat rooms and the webcam to make advances towards their victims, and surveys show, sadly, that one in five of our kids will receive sexual advances while online but less than 25 per cent of them will inform a parent or adult. Responsibility lies upon all of us to ensure that children are aware, informed and educated about the risk of being online. It's why I was proud to host the Oxley community e-safety forum in August last year with the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. Hosted by Woodcrest State College and attended by students, parents, community representatives and members of the Queensland Police Service, the forum provided advice and strategies to minimise the risk of cyberbullying and unwanted online contact and threats. I was pleased to hear Ms Inman Grant speak about the strategies and tactics that children, parents and schools can take to minimise these risks. In a 21st century world it has never more important to equip children, young people and parents with the skills needed to stay safe online.

Today, I also want to acknowledge the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and her government for taking a strong stance in protecting children online with last week's cyberbullying roundtable in Brisbane, and I look forward to this being added to the COAG agenda, hopefully this week. At the roundtable, the Premier and a cross-section of stakeholders and experts discussed a range of measures, including additional funding for towns to support Kids Helpline and Parentline services to combat cyberbullying. These and other measures will be put forward by the Premier at COAG on Friday this week, and I am really looking forward to seeing the federal and state governments working together across party lines to keep our kids safe online.

For many children and teenagers, their online life is an important part of their social identity. But only by working together can we make the online world safer for our children and young people. Australia is doing all it can to keep our kids safe online. However, the constant threat of online bullying and predators is always evolving. We must continue to be vigilant and to look out for our children when they are active online. I pay tribute to the amazing work done by the Carly Ryan Foundation and encourage all children and parents to do all they can to stay safe online. They deserve nothing less.

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