Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the father of a young daughter and as someone who is still close in age to the younger generation, being the youngest member of the House of Representatives, I feel that it's incredibly important that the subject matter of this bill receive as much attention and publicity as possible. I feel that I can address this issue not only from the perspective of a parent but also from the perspective of someone who, at least partially, grew up in the digital world. For example, ICQ and MSN Messenger, later known as Windows Live Messenger, started in the late nineties, when I was still a teenager—around the age of 14 to 16. I remember the interactions that started between youth of that age over those platforms. And Facebook, for example, started in 2004 when I was 21.

As parents we sometimes want to wrap our children up and protect them from the world; however, it is inevitable that as they grow older they will face more and more contexts where they face more and more risk, which is in itself essential to growing, maturing and learning how to face and deal with difficult situations. But I do want the situation for my daughter and others growing up today to be better than it has been in the past.

While we as MPs may wish to sometimes take on the role of parents protecting their children as much as possible, there are certain angles from which to tackle an issue like this so we can be as effective as possible. There are many areas of life where, quite frankly, it is not appropriate for MPs to act like parents. Raising children is, first and foremost, the right and responsibility of parents and families. However, what we can do is work to address the outcomes of situations that children may find themselves in or to try to prevent those situations from arising where possible. This becomes even clearer when the matter in question verges on severe civil legal matters or indeed criminal matters. This subject, the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, is one that has wide-ranging outcomes and some very serious ramifications stemming from peer pressure, jokes, malicious intent, revenge or something in between.

My colleagues will note my references to this legislation so far have been in the context of people of school age. While this legislation clearly has aspects that protect adults, it is particularly the effect this legislation will have on young people that I want to discuss today. Online platforms become more and more advanced every day, and from speaking to students in my electorate I have become even more acutely aware of how quickly internet sharing platforms advance. While we may attempt to teach our children about the dangers of oversharing—whether it is initially online or in person, voluntary or involuntary—I would argue that the government has an important role to play by extending its oversight where a parent's reach ends.

The internet is a wonderful tool for education, commerce, advocacy, health and so many other issues and areas, but we all know that it can also be used for the wrong reasons. It not only provides a platform for private material; it makes it very easy to spread and cause significant harm to an unsuspecting individual.

Revenge porn, the distribution of images for entertainment, even images that are spread beyond what was thought to be a small group in confidence, is covered by this legislation. It is important that we work to address these situations before the impact on victims reaches a stage that it affects their reputation, employment prospects, relationships with family or friends, or their physical wellbeing and safety. It is very easy to look at legislation and see simply words, but there are always people behind these bills. I urge my colleagues across the House to consider the impact of a scenario like this on them, their friends, their family or their neighbours. If we have the ability to prevent such serious harm coming to those individuals, we have an obligation to act.

In May last year I spoke on a related bill, also working to keep children and teenagers safe. The Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017 sought to address the threat to young people frequently posed by adults pretending to be teenagers who prepare or plan to cause harm to, procure or engage in sexual activity with a person under the age of 16 by the means of an online platform. Also, throughout my work leading the inquiry into modern slavery I've worked closely on issues around sexual slavery and the exploitation of children both in Australia and in the supply chains of Australian businesses and organisations.

While the protecting minors online bill had a different focus, that legislation from a year ago is directly related to the matter we are discussing today as well. Carly's Law, as this bill became known, was brought about by the horror of what befell Carly Ryan, who, as I'm sure I don't need toremind my colleagues, fell victim to an online predator posing to be someone her age and was raped and murdered. We have so much to do to attempt to keep pace with the internet and to keep our young people safe online. The important point is we can do something. The first person has already been charged under Carly's Law.

We in this place are all elected to work for our constituents and to keep our children safe to the greatest extent that the law allows, and we are continuing that important work again today in addressing the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. I would like to thank my Victorian coalition colleague the Minister for Communications, Senator the Hon. Mitch Fifield, for his work in bringing about the bill we have before us today, as well as the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, and the then Minister for Communications, now Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who also contributed to the wider context that this legislation is in today.

I'm aware that a number of amendments to this bill have been discussed and debated, which I'm pleased about, as it acknowledges the importance of this subject and shows that there is a significant commitment in this building to getting this legislation right. It is important to acknowledge that the approach and sentiment behind these amendments is first and foremost with concern for those involved and about minimising the harm done by individuals of malicious intent and empowering victims to take control over these situations. My concern over the amendments that involve criminal penalties, as well-meaning as they may be, is that it risks revictimising people who have already gone through some awful experiences. Women's advocacy groups have been consulted in the formation of this legislation and we've seen from statistics relating to other offences of a sexual or intimate nature that, for many people, having to testify about what has happened to you or having to give evidence or provide detail to the police can be incredibly distressing. I have my reservations about any components of the legislation that may force victims to relive these experiences but certainly acknowledge that we are all coming from the same perspective in this debate—that is, ensuring and preserving the welfare of people, primarily women and girls, whose trust is betrayed or who have no control over the situation.

Why are these changes important? These changes are important because they are enabling people to take a proactive approach and to regain some control of a situation that previously was not within their control. Extending a parent or individual's reach and power over removing images I believe is a natural continuation of our existing legislation on the abuse of carrier services, because unfortunately these days it is far too easy for technology to invade all of our private lives, whether we're aware of it or not.

In debating, and I hope soon passing, this legislation, the government is strengthening Australia's laws against technology facilitated abuse, which will complement and extend existing criminal offence provisions at the Commonwealth and state and territory levels and will provide victims with another option for timely and effective redress. The bill sends a clear message to the community that the sharing of intimate images without consent is not an acceptable practice. The civil and criminal penalties facing perpetrators of these offences are important, but, most of all, this bill will facilitate the quick removal of images that have been shared without consent, which is the primary concern of victims and advocacy groups who have been heavily involved in this process. The eSafety Commissioner can even have photos that have been photoshopped removed. I understand that this is the result of extensive public consultation with many stakeholders, including women's safety organisations, mental health experts, schools, victims, the eSafety Commissioner and members of the government's Online Safety Consultative Working Group.

I also recognise the contribution that a number of social media platforms have made towards these changes. I read a few months ago, for example, about the ongoing collaboration between the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and Facebook. Facebook has been testing a proactive reporting tool in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner, and I hope that that relationship and the ability to stop these images coming up improve even further. Social media really is central to this legislation, and it's fantastic that we have support in protecting Australian users. As I said, we need to improve the goodwill and work in this space.

I'm also incredibly passionate about this area of the law and policy not only because I'm a father but because, as a human being, I'm compassionate about the fact that we need to stop these activities happening and to protect not only children but the wider community from these activities. I don't want to see people's lives ruined either due to a situation getting out of their control or due to the abuse of trust by someone they thought was close to them.

I've had this legislation on my radar since the bill was passed by the Senate back in February. My office, in conjunction with my friend and colleague the Chief Government Whip, Nola Marino, coordinated several school visits for the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence back in March. This allowed us to speak to students of varying ages in my electorate of Dunkley about cybersafety, to spread the message of caution and education about the reach and impact that social media and online hosting services can have. As many school assemblies do, our visit started off with many students restless and possibly distracted. But as Nola progressed through her talk, particularly raising the situation of Carly Ryan, the students became still and fixed on her words. I believe that at least some students were thoroughly impacted by our conversations that day, particularly noting some of the conversations that occurred with students coming up to the Chief Government Whip and me after the presentation. I would hope that, if it changes behaviour or actions and perhaps prevents even one decision that may not have been thought through, we will have helped to make a difference.

As the Chief Government Whip said at the time, young people know, and think they know, a lot more than their parents about being online, and they need to also help younger people, including younger siblings. The initial restlessness that we were met with at the forums that we held demonstrated this. This is why it can be hard to get these messages through, but I'm optimistic that this bill helps address situations that people may find themselves in while we also work to change attitudes and behaviours.

The Chief Government Whip at the time also drew the children's attention to the risk of such incidents of cyberbullying and revenge porn and the impact that this may have on future careers. Unfortunately, having mobile devices in our rooms 24/7 means not only that there's so much more risk of having material spread around but also that bullying, especially cyberbullying, has a much greater reach and can continue to harass and intimidate people when they are in what should be the most private environment. This material not only provides an avenue for bullying but can have serious repercussions for victims' futures, leading to anger, embarrassment, fear, defamation, poor performance at school or work, and even self-harm or suicide. But we can hand some of the power back to victims with this legislation.

Around 20 per cent of Australians have experienced image based abuse. One in five Australians aged 16 to 49 has experienced image based abuse, although women aged 18 to 24 are more likely to be targets. This issue is far more wide reaching than I think many of us would like to admit. With our world becoming increasingly centred around the internet and increased connectivity and accessibility, the risk will only increase. This legislation works with victims and victims' advocacy groups, addressing a variety of civil and criminal penalties to protect Australians. Today our online reputation can be our greatest asset.

Lastly, I refer to the support that the Chief Government Whip, Nola Marino, has shown for students in my electorate and across Australia. No police investigation will ever undo the harm, but we as a government will do what we can to limit it and, with a civil law focus, empower those who have been victimised by predators by passing the Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2018, which I wholeheartedly support.

See this speech in context