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

I particularly acknowledge the member for Macarthur as someone who has been involved in children's health his whole life. The safety and mental health of our children is paramount. We know that interacting online can be a great way for children to connect, to learn about their world and to develop skills for the future. But we also know from the research that social media and unfettered content that exists across many of these platforms can cause harm. They can affect mental health and healthy body image. There can be unsolicited contact from strangers—some of the most extreme and concerning for all of us.

Parents are looking for real solutions to what is a legitimate national concern about harmful online environments and addictive behaviour on social media for children. So the Commonwealth is providing national leadership to ensure children are better protected from online harms and parents are supported. Our government will introduce legislation this year to enforce a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms. As the Prime Minister said, we know that technology moves fast, but we have to do all that we can to protect children in this area. Legislation on this issue will be informed by engagement with National Cabinet and the eSafety Commissioner and will draw on recent work by former chief justice Robert French. This builds on the Albanese government's age assurance trial, testing technologies and implementation approaches that will inform our policy design. It's an important step towards ensuring that all Australian children can use the internet in an age-appropriate way that supports them, their learning and their positive development.

In my home state of New South Wales, mobile phones have been banned in schools, and the feedback from teachers has been very positive. Children are playing more, and you can hear more noise and chatter in the playground because they're not spending that time absorbed on their phones. The government has been prepared to do our share, and we have, in our first term, done more to act on the social and economic harms to democracy than any other government in the last 10 years. We've taken decisive action on a number of fronts to minimise online harms and concerns around social media, including bringing forward the review of the Online Safety Act by 12 months and amending the basic online safety expectations so that platforms must place the best interests of the child at the centre of their products and services. We funded joint digital literacy programs in every school, in partnership with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, and we quadrupled ongoing base funding for the eSafety Commissioner to do their important work.

Fundamentally, as we develop the legislative approach, we will focus on ensuring government is not telling parents how to raise children. But we expect platforms and online services to do their fair share, because this burden or responsibility doesn't just rest with parents.

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