Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety, I present the committee's report entitled High-wire act: cyber-safety and the young. It has been a great honour to be the deputy chair of this committee during our inquiry into cybersafety, and it gives me great pleasure to table this report in the House.

In such a rapidly changing world in terms of technology and the associated dangers of that technology, it is a great acknow­ledgement of this parliament and the work of this place that we have kept pace with the times. For most users of the cyberspace environment, it is a helpful and positive experience. I want to note that this report does not seek to demonise the great progress that has been made in digital liberty and online technology in our world today. But for a small minority it can be tragic. All committee members hope that this report will make a difference and make the environment a safer place for all users, especially for young Australians. It is so important that government does provide a safe environment for our young Australians and keep pace with regulatory and other requirements in a rapidly technologically changing world.

While the principal focus of the enquiry was on cyberbullying, it became clear that there are a number of areas where action could be taken to improve cybersafety. We have therefore framed our recommendations to do this. I would like to draw attention to some of them in the following areas: the availability of material on cybersafety, privacy and identity theft, education, and existing legislation.

We have recommended that all the material on cybersafety be made accessible through a central portal and that a national campaign be undertaken to publicise this portal, especially among children and young people. A range of resources is already available from the Australian Commun­ications and Media Authority. But because this is such an important consideration, I will return to this.

We do believe that the internet industry needs to enhance accessibility to assistance or complaints mechanisms on social networking sites. This includes provision of prompt advice about resolution of complaints, especially reasons for any lack of action. Considering the evidence provided to the committee that children at a very young age were on these social networking sites, it became all the more graphic why we need to pursue this course.

The committee also thought that privacy and identity theft were vital issues for the online environment, especially for young people and children. We have made a number of recommendations that should improve the protection for individuals and their personal information and bring forward regulatory and legal frameworks to modern times.

Above all, we believe that better education about cybersafety is vital to reducing the risks in the online environment, especially that of cyberbullying. Therefore, there are a number of recommendations to assist schools, teachers, parents and carers. One of the most significant is a proposal to develop national core standards for cybersafety education in our schools. Another recommendation proposes the inclusion of cybersafety material in the core curriculums of teacher training courses. All Australian schools are encouraged to introduce acceptable use agreements governing the access of students to the online environment. While all states and territories have a range of legislative means to deal with cybersafety crimes, these are inconsistent and there are gaps. We therefore recommended that the Attorney-General review existing legislation dealing with the crimes in all Australian jurisdictions.

I would like to express my thanks in particular to colleagues on the committee and also to those witnesses—industry groups, other bodies, parents and teacher groups—that came and presented evidence to us. Members here would know that I am not a particular fan of big government solutions to the problems that we face. Indeed, the committee canvassed extensively the concept of a mandatory internet filter. One of the great things about this report is that we are not recommending the introduction of mandatory internet filter. In fact, voluntary filter regimes were highlighted by parents groups, teachers groups, union groups, peak bodies in industry and other associations as the best way to proceed. Indeed, we are not recommending filtering as a solution to the problems of online behaviour and online safety.

We are also acknowledging that traditional models, such as ombudsmen and the question of an online ombudsman, are not a realistic response to a rapidly changing technological world. Nor do we accept that a traditional review of process by a government official would somehow lead to a better outcome. We are acknowledging that the rapidly changing technological world this report attempts to deal with needs rapidly changing technological solutions, and the government and legislation need to keep pace with the evolution of our society.

I thank in particular Cheryl Scarlett, the secretary of our committee, for all the work she put in. I believe that the adoption of the recommendations will make a contribution to alerting the community to the importance of cybersafety and lead to a deep penetration into these problems.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the member for Mitchell in speaking to the report of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety High-wire act: cyber-safety and the young.

The internet and modern information technology have become an invaluable resource in today's fast-moving world. Regrettably, those resources can also be used for wrong purposes, sometimes causing irreparable harm to others. Cybersafety is very important for all those who enter the online environment. It is vital to making this environment safer for all users, particularly for young Australians. There are risks to all users in the online environment, but some reporting can be sensational. It does not concentrate sufficiently on measures that can easily be taken to reduce those risks.

The major focus of this inquiry was cybersafety for young people in the online environment. Consultation with them was a priority, and an online survey was devised to ensure that they had the opportunity to give us their views on a range of issues. We were surprised by the response to our 'Are you safe?' survey. A total of 33,751 young people completed it and many respondents provided useful additional comments. We have made extensive use of these frank, revealing and sometimes disturbing comments. This inquiry received 152 submissions and 16 supplementary submissions. We relied heavily on these submissions in framing our conclusions and recommendations.

We took evidence from a wide range of people and organisations with an interest in cybersafety. They included the represe­ntatives of the information and communications technology industry and Facebook, academics and researchers, a range of Australian government departments and agencies, and state government education departments. Non-government organisations working with young people, professional bodies and unions, represent­atives of parent and carers, as well as several corporations and content providers also gave evidence. It became clear that there is a need for more education on a range of cybersafety issues. A great deal of material that would reduce online risks is available from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, for example. It is based on sound research and on consultation with young Australians.

The existence and availability of this material is clearly not well known in the community. We have recommended that it be made more accessible through a central portal—and I thank the member for Mitchell who referred to this in his remarks—and that this portal be publicised through a national campaign. While children as young as four and five years of age are being introduced to the online environment, cybersafety educ­ation does not begin in schools until they are six or seven. We have recommended looking at the feasibility of providing this education in preschools and kindergartens. It is clear that cyberbullying is a major and serious issue in Australia but that it is not well understood. At this point, it has not even been satisfactorily defined. We have recommended that an agreed definition of cyberbullying be developed and adopted by all Australian government departments and agencies.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time for this debate has expired. Does the member for Mitchell seek to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a future occasion?

Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.