Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the:

  (a) importance of educating and protecting our children in the online space; and

  (b) work of the Australian Federal Police through the ThinkUKnow program, a free, evidence based cyber safety program, to provide educational presentations to parents, carers and teachers, and students across Australia;

(2) congratulates the Australian Government on passing the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Act 2017, also known as Carly’s Law, which targets online predators preparing or planning to cause harm to, procure or engage in sexual activity with a child; and

(3) recognises the new law is a testament to Sonya Ryan, who has advocated for this since her 15 year old daughter Carly was murdered a decade ago by an online predator posing as a teenage boy.

Safer Internet Day is tomorrow. The internet is the most fantastic tool. I can't imagine how anybody would do without it at all. But the internet and social media can also be a risky place. It also provides a unique tool for bullying, like nothing we've seen before. It can be vicious, it's immediate, it's global and frequently permanent in a way that we've not seen historically. I want to see young people being safe and enjoying their time online, which is why I've worked for many years in cybersafety presentations for schoolchildren, because self-protection is critical. The AFP and state and territory police deliver ThinkUKnow. There have been 17,031 presentations to 127,449 students across Australia. What a great job. Thank you to every local police officer who's delivering those presentations. Volunteers delivered 22,493 presentations to parents, carers and teachers.

When I look at the ThinkUKnow resources, I find I can use a number of their overheads in my cybersafety presentations to school groups, parents, community groups, because education is a key to managing online risks. 'Cyberbullying—what it is' is one of the overheads I use from ThinkUKnow, as well as 'The effects of cyberbullying', 'Why people cyberbully', 'How young people can help their friends who are being cyberbullied' and 'How to stay in control'. What ThinkUKnow tell a young person is: 'Don't start it. Don't start cyberbullying. Think before you hit "send" or "post" when you're posting something mean. Don't be part of it. Say no if someone tries to involve you in cyberbullying, and don't let it get out of control. Talk to someone—a trusted adult, the kids' helpline, parents, police or a teacher.' Cyberbullying ruins lives and costs lives.

I read an article in The West Australian which said that children as young as three are addicted to smartphones and tablets. Seventeen per cent of children under three and 36 per cent of preschoolers have their own smart device. The Child Health Poll by the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne said that, on average, children spend 32 hours a week on devices and 43 per cent use devices at bedtime. I read a global report from DQ Institute that said that kids aged eight to 12 spent 32 hours on devices per week for entertainment and 15 per cent of those had accessed pornography online, 11 per cent actually met online strangers and seven per cent had sent or received sexual content.

I say to the parents: 'What do you know about what your children are doing online? What social networks and apps and games are they using? What are the risks of these? Do you talk to your children about what they're doing and what they're seeing online? Do you know about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Musically, WhatsApp, Skype, Twitter, Periscope, happn, Messenger, Pokemon Go, Tinder and Kik? Do you know much about the age restrictions on games like Call of Duty, Minecraft, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans?' There's a wonderful new ThinkUKnow resource called the SOS Guide to Cybersafety for parents, and I would encourage parents to look at this and use it.

I want to congratulate, again, Sonya Ryan, who established the Carly Ryan Foundation. We now have Carly's Law, and that's as a result of much work by Sonya. It's a law that targets online predators who have the purpose of delivering sexual harm and sexual activity with a child. That's what it's aimed at. That's what caused Carly's death, and it was done online. A man was pretending to be a teenager. He was actually 50-plus-year-old online predator, Garry Francis Newman. I thank Sonya for all her work, and she isn't stopping, which is really good.

I look at the ThinkUKnow Top Tips page. It says:

Start the cyber safety conversation with your child and let them teach you about what they do online.

... take an interest in how your child uses technology. Why not have a go and trial the apps yourself—

the ones that I've mentioned and the ones your children are using—

Speak with your child about respectful relationships—

and that includes online relationships.

Create a Family Online Safety Contract.

In the SOS guide there's a basic family contract. There's one in the guide that you could actually visit at the ThinkUKnow website—thinkuknow.org.au—and have a look at that as well. It's a simple contract in which the family decides how the devices are going to be used, what they'll agree to and what rules they have as a family. One of the other tips is 'Know what your kids are doing online, who they are friends with and who they may be talking to.' That's all part of thinkuknow.org.au.

I also believe very strongly that in this place the platforms really need to take far more responsibility for what's happening. I read recently that Facebook is used by 95 per cent of young adults. Eighty-nine per cent of all internet searches are done on Google. Between Facebook and Google, that's two-thirds of all online spending, as well, especially in the ad space. Google and Apple together provide 99 per cent of mobile phone operating systems. When you look at this reach, and the responsibility that goes with that market power and market dominance, it really is an issue where I believe the platforms need to take far more responsibility.

I also want to talk about some of the experiences of young people. When I do presentations and talk to them, I ask them questions. One of the questions I ask them is whether they've ever been bullied online in any form. Irrespective of the age of the class, there is always a proportion of young people in each class who put their hands up. Those proportions vary in relation to what age the young people are and sometimes where that school is.

My second question can then be, 'Can you talk to your mum and dad about the things that you're seeing and doing online? Can you talk to them about whether you're scared, whether you're worried, whether there's content sent to you that upsets you or scares you?' A proportion of the young people say yes, and a proportion in each class say no. I also encourage them to find their trusted adult, if they can't talk to mum or dad: that important person in their life who's going to help them with what they're doing online when they come across things that they're not sure about or that keep them awake at night.

The third and most worrying question for me, which helps to drive me in what I do, is the question about how many of them have been to meet in person people they've only first met online. It's really concerning to me that it's very unusual, in the hundreds of presentations that I've done, to have a class where no children put their hand up. I always get young people who have the courage—it's a silent survey, so no-one else can see what they're saying—to put their hands up. More and more of these young people are actually going to meet, in person, people they've only met online. That's the very issue that Carly Ryan faced, because the person she thought was Brandon Kane was Gary Francis Newman. He was the online predator.

With young people accepting friends online—so many of them, to be on Facebook, are supposed to be 13. But I had a young eight-year-old who was very happy to admit to me that he had 250 friends on Facebook. I know that a proportion of those people are pretending to be a different age. They're using a different profile photo. And they are deliberately befriending that child for a number of reasons.

So I want to say to all parents, please get involved in this space. Please have wonderful conversations and talk to your kids and listen to your children. They can tell you so much about online, about devices and about what they're doing, but they certainly need the guidance of parents in what they come across. The contract that's in the SOS document is really useful. And I cannot stress to parents too much: have the conversation early. When you hear about the three-year-olds who have smartphones and iPhones and devices—they're very young to have a conversation, but there still needs to be a conversation about how this device will be used, when it will be used and what it will be used for. It's something where the younger generation has something to teach older generations, and certainly we need to help them to be safe and happy in what they do online. So please get involved.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support this motion, and I would just like to take a moment to commend the great work that the member for Forrest does in educating young people. The member for Forrest is saving lives, absolutely. I also commend the member for Forrest's work in advocating very strongly in this parliament and ensuring this parliament knows the importance of keeping our children safe online.

The Nick Xenophon Team was also instrumental in bringing about Carly's Law with the government. We worked very closely with the government to ensure Carly's Law got through the parliament, because Carly was a bright and beautiful young girl in my electorate and she had her life taken away from her. That was 10 years ago. She was 15 years of age. The member for Forrest has already told Carly's story. It was a 50-year-old paedophile who lied to her. He was pretending to be a sensitive and charismatic 18-year-old musician, but he was not.

The problem in that case is that, until the passing of Carly's Law, none of the murderer's online behaviour was illegal. When this paedophile was finally arrested for Carly's murder, detectives found him at home chatting to a 14-year-old girl in Western Australia using one of 200 fake online identities he'd created to meet young girls. Carly's Law makes it an offence to prepare or plan to cause harm, procure or engage in sexual activity with a person under 16 years of age, and this includes lying about your age online as part of that process.

Earlier versions of this bill were introduced by my colleagues, former senators Nick Xenophon and Skye Kakoschke-Moore. The government's version of Carly's Law was achieved in consultation with my former Senate colleagues, with the aim of avoiding any of the unintended consequences raised during the Senate inquiry process in relation to those earlier versions.

Carly's Law closes some identified gaps in existing legislation. Just a month after this legislation was passed last year, police in South Australia arrested a man who was allegedly pretending to be a teenage girl online in order to groom a minor. Through this law, we have prevented harm to at least one child, and I have no doubt we have given police another tool to prevent harm to thousands more.

Carly's Law is a legacy, and it's just part of the work accomplished by the Nick Xenophon Team in supporting the Carly Ryan Foundation, which, month after month, is cobbling together pennies so that they can continue the great work that they do. This foundation was set up by Carly's mother, Sonya, in 2010 to raise awareness among young people of online dangers. It is an organisation run entirely by volunteers. Sonya gives presentations at schools and is often approached by young people to share their online experiences. I have been present at some of those presentations and you could hear a pin drop in the room, which is quite unusual in a room full of teenagers. Sonya does what she can to support young people and she steers them in the appropriate direction for help. Fortunately, there is more assistance today, including the Australian Federal Police cyber safety program ThinkUKnow, and it is, indeed, an excellent program. But governments can only do so much.

A fortnight ago, I was invited to the official launch of a new business in my electorate, called Cybersafe Families. Cybersafe Families is operated by Chris and Michelle Greene from the Adelaide Hills. They draw on more than 20 years of experience working in the education, counselling and technology sectors. They draw on their experiences as parents. Cybersafe Families provides a range of education, training and counselling services to help young families, and it has been certified by the eSafety Commissioner.

Government has an important role to play in cyber safety awareness, but parents need to step up too. As a parent, I know it's not always easy. Years ago, when my children were young, we were told to keep the computer in a safe place. We were told to tell our children about stranger danger and about ensuring that in the park they weren't talking to strangers, but ultimately, with iPhones, we are letting strangers into our homes. That has happened in my family too, with my daughter singing into a hairbrush and putting things on YouTube to share with her friends. I had to have that very awkward conversation with her about who exactly is watching and what their intentions were.

So I would like to close by commending the member for Forrest for what she is doing with this, and I hope that we continue to keep these conversations going in the parliament. We must remain ever-vigilant, as members of parliament and as parents, in ensuring that our most vulnerable young Australians have a safe and secure and happy childhood.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When I graduated from high school in 2000, only 18 years ago, the world was a very different place. All my assignments were written by hand, we didn't use laptops in the classroom, and the internet had no place in our research or homework. Only 10 years ago in 2008, things were still quite different—smart phones hadn't yet entered our daily lives, Facebook was still fairly new to the world and Netflix was only starting to take hold in America. The internet and mobile technology are revolutionising how we live our lives. I raise this because it is important for us to understand how technology is changing the daily lives of every young person in Australia.

When I speak at primary and high schools in Canning, I often ask the students if they own a phone or tablet or if they have access to a computer in their bedroom. Without fail, I am greeted by a multitude of hands. Students do not know a world without the internet. Most of them have no experience of life without instant access to almost limitless content and worldwide communication—all within arm's reach. This, of course, presents incredible opportunities but also great risks. It highlights why it is so important that our kids are taught how to navigate the online space safely.

We can all do our part to promote smart online behaviour. I have started holding cybersafety talks at schools in Canning, and I acknowledge the member for Forrest's leadership in this area, encouraging other members of parliament to do the same. So far I've visited Austin Cove Baptist College, Serpentine Jarrahdale Grammar School and Marri Grove Primary School. In each class, we've discussed the dangers of sharing private information, what to do if someone asks you for rude pictures, hacking and cyberbullying. I am pleased to say that in every case the students have taken the topic seriously and thoughtfully.

I know that many parents are worried about the internet and their children. We need to be vigilant and creative in how we introduce and guide our kids online, because the truth is that they're digital natives and we are not. For teachers and parents looking for resources, I encourage you to explore the website ThinkUKnow. ThinkUKnow is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, the Commonwealth Bank, Microsoft, Datacom, all state and territory police agencies, and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia. ThinkUKnow provides help and reporting for young people online, but it also has resources for teachers and advice for parents.

For worried parents, I want to reassure you this government is taking action to protect your kids from online threats. The internet is difficult to govern and police, and so we need laws that reflect our modern times. For that very reason, we passed the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Act last year. This amendment to the Criminal Code is designed to specifically target and criminalise online acts of sexual grooming and coercion. The act is designed to target people who misrepresent their age online, to deceive and harm underage children. For example, it will capture social media users lying about their age, profession or an event, in an attempt to lure a child to a meeting for the purposes of causing that child harm, or procuring or engaging in sexual activity with a child. The offence will also capture preparatory conduct, irrespective of whether a child is communicated with or identified. For example, if a predator has created a social media profile with the intention of using that profile to establish an online relationship to harm or engage in sexual activity with a child, they can be captured by this offence before any harm comes to the child.

The internet poses unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Our kids are on the front-line of the digital revolution. We need to do everything we can to ensure they are supported in this new world, and I support the work that the coalition government is doing in this area.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion put forward by the member for Forrest and recommit Labor's pledge to work collaboratively to keep our children safe and, in this instance, particularly online. As we've heard, the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill that was passed by members in this place last year has, sadly, a long and painful history to its becoming law in this country. The bill, known as Carly's law, is the result of the tragic tale of Carly Ryan, who, at the age of 15, was lured by online predators to her tragic death. She was found murdered in Port Elliot on 20 February 2007. Carly's story is truly heartbreaking. At the sentencing of Carly's murderer in 2009, her brave mother, Sonya Ryan, told the court about the last time she saw her daughter alive in February 2007. The court heard Carly told her mother she was going to stay with a friend for a couple of nights. Sonya said her daughter hugged her four times and called out 'Love you!' as she walked away from their Adelaide Hills house. Since that time, Sonya has been at the forefront of a mission to keep Australian kids safe online, and this bill is just one of the many accomplishments she's made during that time.

This bill will now allow police to intervene to stop an online predator at an earlier stage and thus play a greater preventive role. It also amends the Criminal Code to insert a new offence of an adult using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to, engage in sexual activity with, or procure for a sexual activity a person under the age of 16. This is the fifth version of Carly's law that has been introduced to parliament, with the previous four attempts at legislation having been introduced by the Nick Xenophon Team, who are to be commended for their commitment to Sonya Ryan's cause in this bill. I also acknowledge and want to pay tribute to the dedication shown by the member for Forrest and her continued work for this cause over an extended period of time, and I know she has given hundreds of cybersafety presentations to schoolchildren.

The challenge of keeping kids safe online is by no means a small task. The stats on online safety are scary. There is a 50 per cent chance that if your child is in a chat room designated for underage children the stranger he or she is talking to is a sexual predator logged in under a false identity. Sexual predators especially enjoy the use of private messaging, private chat rooms and the webcam to make advances towards their victims, and surveys show, sadly, that one in five of our kids will receive sexual advances while online but less than 25 per cent of them will inform a parent or adult. Responsibility lies upon all of us to ensure that children are aware, informed and educated about the risk of being online. It's why I was proud to host the Oxley community e-safety forum in August last year with the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. Hosted by Woodcrest State College and attended by students, parents, community representatives and members of the Queensland Police Service, the forum provided advice and strategies to minimise the risk of cyberbullying and unwanted online contact and threats. I was pleased to hear Ms Inman Grant speak about the strategies and tactics that children, parents and schools can take to minimise these risks. In a 21st century world it has never more important to equip children, young people and parents with the skills needed to stay safe online.

Today, I also want to acknowledge the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and her government for taking a strong stance in protecting children online with last week's cyberbullying roundtable in Brisbane, and I look forward to this being added to the COAG agenda, hopefully this week. At the roundtable, the Premier and a cross-section of stakeholders and experts discussed a range of measures, including additional funding for towns to support Kids Helpline and Parentline services to combat cyberbullying. These and other measures will be put forward by the Premier at COAG on Friday this week, and I am really looking forward to seeing the federal and state governments working together across party lines to keep our kids safe online.

For many children and teenagers, their online life is an important part of their social identity. But only by working together can we make the online world safer for our children and young people. Australia is doing all it can to keep our kids safe online. However, the constant threat of online bullying and predators is always evolving. We must continue to be vigilant and to look out for our children when they are active online. I pay tribute to the amazing work done by the Carly Ryan Foundation and encourage all children and parents to do all they can to stay safe online. They deserve nothing less.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In what has become a cruel reality of the social media world we live in, the word 'bullying' is now trending. The convergence of these two terms highlights, in my opinion, the sad state of affairs we have reached. While the social media revolution is providing us with opportunities in business and in play, there are certainly concerns about how it is affecting people throughout our society. I am sick to my stomach every time I hear about yet another young life ruined or ended by the fallout caused by online bullying. I am not alone either, with dozens adding their voices to the public debate since the tragic death of Amy Jayne 'Dolly' Everett last month. Dolly's sad story has become an icon for the devastating effect that bullying can have on a family. To lose such a vibrant soul, so young, with so much life yet to live, is shocking to the rest of us just as it is to her devastated family. As a mother of two daughters, my heart breaks to imagine what Dolly's parents have been through. If it is possible to take a positive from such a disaster, it is that this tragedy has spawned something of a groundswell—a movement powered by a collective mindset that says, 'Enough is enough.' We have to do something and we have to do something now.

Just days after Dolly's death made global headlines, a concerned mother in my electorate of Capricornia had a similarly chilling experience. This mother, whom I will refer to as 'Katrina', had been aware of a certain level of bullying being aimed at her daughter but was certainly not prepared for the shocking discovery that awaited. Katrina's daughter initially had harassment directed at her on the live video platform 'live.ly'. It then moved to Sarahah, which she said almost every young person in her daughter's social circle had downloaded. Sarahah is marketed as a feedback app, allowing customers or clients to provide anonymous comments about a business or a service. It can, unfortunately, though, be used to direct abuse at people, providing the bully their perfect tool. The cloak of being anonymous provides a perfect cover for the cowardly attacks of a bully. Katrina said, 'When she was told to kill herself, I couldn't sleep, I was so worried about her. It was when I was lying awake at night that I knew I had to take action and wrote the petition.' Katrina says social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and smaller developers, need to take more responsibility in the fight against cyberbullies and uncovering the perpetrators. She said, 'They can't hide behind privacy concerns and it's up to them to track down the perpetrators. Surely it's not that hard for them.'

I would like to emphasise my absolute support for Katrina in her fight to have this realised. I have met with her personally and am in awe of her passion and her success in relation to her petition. Katrina's change.org petition calls on Apple and Google to stop providing anonymous apps like Sarahah. The petition launched with the goal of reaching 5,000 signatures. Today, Katrina's petition now has over 204,000 signatures. This just shows how important this subject is to people.

Bullying does not just affect our kids, either. Men, women, boys and girls—we are all at risk of having bullies try it on. If there's one line of work that places you at risk, it's working in this place, but, as I've said before, I'm old enough and tough enough to deal with it, or ignore the slings and arrows, and I know that anonymous comment isn't worth reading. The sad fact is, though, that not everyone has this knowledge. For some, a simple insult can cut to the core. I am committed to doing what I can to provide leadership and a listening ear when it comes to how we tackle this insidious problem. A world where cyberbullying is a historical term is a world I want to be part of, and it starts here today.

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the member for Forrest for bringing what I think is a really important motion before the House this afternoon. One of the driving passions of my life has been the welfare of Australian children. I believe, and the Australian Labor Party believes, that there is no higher duty of parliamentarians than keeping Australian children safe. The sixth of February is Safer Internet Day, a day when we can come together to create a safer and better internet where everyone is empowered to use technology safely and respectfully. I am very pleased to be speaking today on this motion, which recognises the critical importance of educating and protecting our children as they make a life online.

The growth of the internet represents extraordinary opportunity for our children. It provides a treasure trove of information, culture and stories for children to access. It helps our teachers and educators access the very best resources for their students. It allows families to keep in touch no matter where they are in world. All of these things are worth celebrating. But as a parent of two boys—who are one and four and who I know are going to be growing up in a world that I couldn't have imagined as a child—and as a parliamentarian I am keenly aware of the threats that exist to children online; they are very real, they are very common, they are very present.

In my role as the shadow minister for justice I have the great privilege of working with some of the organisations that spend their daily lives trying to protect Australian children. One of them is the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which, the chamber will be aware, was created by Walter Mikac in the aftermath of the tragic death of his two girls. That organisation is fond of saying that protecting children online is the child protection issue of our era. I don't think there's a parent in this country that doesn't agree with this. In my role as shadow minister for justice I am exposed to what is the very worst end of this—the criminal end of this. There are children right around this country who are exposed to cyberbullying. I saw one terrifying statistic which said that of children aged eight to 12 about half have experienced cyberbullying online. In my work I have to deal with, at the worst end of the spectrum, online child abuse and child exploitation materials. As I said, these threats are real. It's not a figment of the imagination to try to keep people afraid; they're real, they're there and we do have to manage them as a parliament.

There is growing acknowledgement of the devastating effect of cyberbullying on the wellbeing of children in this country. Previous speakers have spoken to the tragic death of Dolly Everett last month, which I know shocked all Australians. It was a painful and heartbreaking reminder that online threats to children can be fatal. When we hear about the prevalence of these threats, I think we see the need for this parliament to act. Some of the previous speakers have talked about some of the legislative issues. I want to speak specifically about the education of Australian children to try to help them protect themselves against these threats. We can pass all the laws we want in this parliament, but there are specific issues which relate to the internet that make protecting children really hard. One of the really obvious ones is that a lot of the worst offenders who are facilitating this type of conduct are companies which are incorporated and registered overseas. We can try to send them notices to take things down from the internet, but it's not always effective, so we do need to come back to this point about empowering children.

Labor was very proud to put in place the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and it echoed the importance of providing kids with education and the tools to try to protect themselves on the internet. That commission recommended increased online safety education for children. That report was handed down a while ago, and I am keenly awaiting the government's response to it. This is the most profound, fundamental, sweeping review of child protection that has ever been conducted in Australia, and I am very much looking forward to a constructive debate with the government to talk about how we can make sure that the recommendations of that commission become Australian law.

In the remaining seconds, I want to note some of the people who are working in this space who I think deserve particular acknowledgement. One of those is Sonya Ryan, whose daughter Carly was tragically taken from her in circumstances that really are my worst nightmare for my own children. Sonya Ryan has used the tragic death of her daughter to protect other Australian children through the creation of the Carly Ryan Foundation. I want to acknowledge the work of that foundation and also the Australian Federal Police officers who are doing so much in their daily lives to try to protect the children that we are all so much responsible for.

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to take this opportunity to speak on this important motion moved by the member for Forrest, who we all know has a very, very keen interest in the safety of children online. I know that she regularly takes the time to deliver online safety presentations for school children and for parents. She has fought in this place, within the Liberal-National party room and also in this parliament, for better protections for children in the online world. She was a driving force behind this government's passing of the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Act 2017. That law, which is also known as Carly's Law, is another step toward greater online security, and it recognises that preparing to commit an offence is something that should be viewed as an offence within itself. Carly's Law is proactive legislation and it targets online predators before they have the opportunity to harm an innocent child. Rather than wait for a heinous act to be committed, this offence relates to preparations for that act. It relates to the grooming work that these predators do in preparation to cause harm to procure or engage in sexual activity with a child. It allows law enforcement officers to take action against predators sooner and with greater consequences, including imprisonment for up to 10 years.

This legislation is commonly referred to, as I said, as Carly's Law in honour of Carly Ryan, who at the age of 15 was groomed by an online predator who later assaulted and killed her. I had the honour of meeting Carly's mother, Sonya, a very, very brave woman in Mackay, and she said that she never wanted to see another mother go through what she was forced to endure. So she started up The Carly Ryan Foundation which raises awareness in children, teenagers in particular, about the dangers of online predators. She also started an online petition through Change.org, securing more than 95,000 signatures, I'm told, advocating for legislative changes which resulted in Carly's Law. She's looking at others as well.

There's more to online safety than just catching, preventing and punishing predators—it's very important though. But in addition to ensuring we have these strong laws to protect children online, the Liberal-National government has introduced a number of other initiatives to empower parents and children to use the online space with greater safety. In 2015, the government passed the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Amendment Act. This law created the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, which is a one-stop shop for online safety. It allows the reporting of serious cyberbullying and illegal content. It also allows for providing resources for parents and educators to help protect privacy online and show them how to get image-based abuse removed from the internet.

The Australian Federal Police, the great men and women who work for us in that agency, also have a program called ThinkUKnow. It provides cybersafety education for mums and dads, for carers and for teachers. These presentations cover online grooming. They also cover a range of other online safety issues: sexting, as it's colloquially known; privacy; inappropriate online behaviours; identity theft and fraud. The ThinkUKnow program has been running for a number of years now and, in 2015-16, it delivered more than one presentation every day—a total of 386 presentations in the year reaching more than 10,000 parents, carers and teachers.

The internet has opened up this vast new possibility: a world that grows in size and complexity every year. It opens up enormous capacity for good things: entertainment, communication, commerce and education. It's hard to imagine the world without online capability, but with those benefits come these risks. The anonymity of the internet provided a perfect cover for the predator Garry Newman—the man convicted of assaulting and murdering Carly Ryan—a 50-year-old paedophile. He was able to present himself online as an 18-year-old muso. He could present himself as having the same interests as the victim and carefully manipulate them into trusting him. He created a fake online profile, a fake name, a fake photo—all of this is done easily in the online environment. We need to target it, we need to stop it and we need to protect our children.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.