Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I start by complimenting my colleague the member for Stirling for bringing forward this very important motion. He is a dad himself, and he shares with many colleagues on this side of the chamber a passion for making sure that our kids are safe online. It's a timely motion because, as we know, tomorrow is Safer Internet Day 2020, an opportunity for parents and government alike to take a moment and consider: what are we doing to make sure our children are safe online and what more can be done in this space?

We all know—and a number of speakers before me have recounted—just what a positive impact new technology is having. It has an enormously positive impact on all sorts of aspects of our lives, from education to work and entertainment. But it is important that we as a society and as a government do not accept that reduced safety online is the cost of those benefits. It is not. It is not a foregone conclusion that we should have to put up with reduced online safety in order to achieve the benefits that new technology brings to society. The government does not accept that as a legitimate cost of new technology. I don't think the Australian community accepts it either. We know that, because the community is rightly troubled by the statistics, as is the government.

Twenty-five per cent of young people have been contacted by strangers or somebody they did not know. Thirteen per cent of young people reported receiving repeated unwanted online messages from someone. Thirteen per cent of young people reported having lies or rumours spread about them. These statistics are incredibly troubling. My experience as a dad, albeit a new dad, is: I've done it myself; any parent can—I've handed the iPhone to the young fella to watch some cartoons, because mum and dad were tied up and the stress of life takes over, completely forgetting that this is an internet enabled device. As soon as you hand a child an internet enabled device, as a parent you have to think: do I have the appropriate protections in place? It is absolutely my nightmare scenario as a father.

The previous speaker from our side of the chamber was talking about our fantastic eSafety Commissioner. She was in The Australian on the weekend talking about some of those scenarios. It used to be that, as a parent, if your child was in your home, you knew they were safe. But some of the most horrible experiences with a lack of online safety that the eSafety Commissioner recounted were cases where children were being taken advantage of online and you could literally hear the parents talking in the background in another room. That's why it's so important to take this opportunity, with Safer Internet Day and with this motion, to consider, as a parent: is my child safe online? The opportunity is there. The toolkit is there, provided by this government. We have been at the forefront of online safety regulation. There is more to be done. But every year we are increasing the awareness of online safety. The Office of the eSafety Commissioner now has over $100 million worth of funding for the next four years.

I would like to commend the eSafety Commissioner's approach. She talks about the importance of new technology and she talks about the fact that we should have the expectation as a community—and I certainly do as a dad—that these types of new applications, as they become available, should have safety built into them from the ground up. It's not a bolt-on; it's not an add-on that happens when the community starts to rail or be concerned. All these applications should be built from the ground up with safety considerations in mind. But it's my view that Facebook and some of these other online platforms can and should be doing more. They can do more. That's why I'm proud that the government has legislated the world's first kids cyberbullying material take-down regime, giving the eSafety Commissioner the power to direct social media organisations to take down materials and issue end-user notices to individuals. Already this is proving incredibly successful. We have to partner that with the community expectation that we put pressure on these providers and other platforms to do more. So take the opportunity in your family, with online safety day tomorrow, to consider this. The tookits are there online with the eSafety Commissioner. Download them for your family, and protect your family.

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