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

I rise today to speak about a topic that's very close to my heart, and that is e-safety, particularly for our young kids and for families right across Australia. It's on the back of Safer Internet Day 2020, which happened earlier this month. It was an important opportunity for families to take the time to talk to their kids and to talk amongst themselves about how they can make sure their entire family is safe when it comes to accessing the internet, particularly around our children and young Australians, like the young Australians who come here while we're sitting to watch us in parliament, like the kids who are currently behind me—hi, kids!—to make sure that they are safe when it comes to using digital devices. That's because it's something that is just ubiquitous in our society now.

I must admit that, just before I walked in here to make this speech, I was on a voice call with my little 2½-year-old. From time to time he certainly takes the phone or mobile connected device in order to access a movie or cartoons or something like that, but as parents we need to be ever vigilant, because we know that the size of the problem is significant. According to research from the eSafety Commissioner, Australian children are regularly exposed to harmful online experiences, with 28 per cent of parents aware their child has had a negative experience online. Twenty-eight per cent of parents are aware that their child has had a negative experience—that's over one in every four—but that's not to mention those negative experiences that children have that parents simply aren't aware of. This is my nightmare in particular.

If you talk to the eSafety Commissioner, you will hear some horrifying stories. You will hear stories from her of footage that her and her team have watched and identified and had taken off the internet where a young person is being taken advantage of on an internet enabled device while they can literally hear the parents talking in the next room over. It used to be that parents had a lot of things to worry about with regard to their kids, but they knew that when they were home they were safe because they were with mum and dad. Now a child can be taken advantage of on a mobile enabled device in the next room over while their parents, while doing their best, are completely oblivious.

So what can we do to help give parents the tools in order to keep their kids safe? Well, the government has established the world's first eSafety Commissioner. She's been particularly focused on the safety of kids up until now, but, with the new online safety act that's currently out for consultation, that role is looking to expand to all adults across Australia. She and her office have achieved significant things already. They've reached over 452,000 through education campaigns, they've investigated over 42,000 cases of illegal online content and they've addressed over 1,300 complaints about serious cyberbullying against children.

The message to parents is: you do not have to accept cyberbullying and inappropriate online communication between other people and your children as the cost of the internet and having a mobile enabled household—you just don't have to accept it. The eSafety Commissioner, when they're made aware of online bullying and made aware of specific cases, such as revenge porn or inappropriate photos—whatever it may be—they can issue a notice to the service providers to have that material removed. They have a very good success rate in achieving that within 24 to 48 hours.

They've just released a new online safety booklet for under-fives so that parents can start having this conversation with their children nice and early. It revolves around some important principles for kids, and that is to be safe, to be kind online, to ask for help and to make good choices yourself. There is an abundance of resources on the eSafety Commissioner's website, where parents can expand on those themes for their kids to make sure that their children understand the importance of doing those things online—particularly making good choices and avoiding people who they feel uncomfortable with. There are also important resources for parents in this booklet about how you can help your child by exploring the internet together; sitting down with them; being part of that process as they start to understand what it is to live in an internet enabled world; supervising them always; making sure that you're there, even if they're just watching a cartoon or something like that; and always watching your kids to help keep them safe.

House adjourned at 17:00

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