Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. Last September in this place, in reference to the terrorist atrocity committed by an Australian citizen in Christchurch and warnings about the rise of right-wing extremism, online hate speech and racism in Australia, I asked the minister what steps he had taken, including in consultation with the Attorney-General and other relevant ministers, to address the issue of online racism in Australia. I asked the minister if he would ensure that Australians, including Australians of Muslim faith, are kept safe online, by amending the e-safety act or by driving the adoption of an EU-style code of conduct for countering illegal hate speech online. The minister responded by saying:

… I make the point that we are committed to introducing a new online safety act …

More recently, and in response to the circulation of a graphic suicide video on social media, including on TikTok and Facebook, once again the minister spruiked the forthcoming online safety act that does not yet exist. Minister, if you are so committed to introducing a new online safety act to keep Australians safe, why have you failed to introduce a new online safety act over a year later, and when is it coming?

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