John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister update the House on action our government is taking to empower authorities to protect Australian families in our community? What are the alternatives to this approach?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I start by commending the policing agencies, in particular the Queensland police, for the work they've led in relation to this terrible circumstance around strawberries. At this point in time I can report to the House and to the Australian public that there are now over 100 cases. Many of those will be hoaxes or copycat cases, but this is a very serious issue. The Prime Minister moved very swiftly this morning to make an announcement in relation to our government's response—that is, we will improve the laws. I also thank the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force for their involvement with the other policing agencies. This now reaches well beyond Queensland to almost every jurisdiction across the country. My appeal to people who are posting false images to Facebook or on Twitter is: please don't do it. It's a diversion of police resources. They are concentrating on finding the perpetrators of what is a very serious crime, and they don't want their resources diverted to look at each of these cases, which are either copycat cases or hoaxes. It will delay their finding of the person who is truly responsible for the original crime. It has, as the Prime Minister pointed out, a negative impact not just on families but on farmers and their families as well. The government will provide whatever support we can through our law enforcement agencies to bolster the efforts of the national response, which is being led by Queensland.

I also take the opportunity today to acknowledge work being done by the Australian Federal Police in concert with the other state policing agencies and in fact all law enforcement agencies across the country in relation to countering child exploitation. This is a serious threat to families. Mums and dads are worried about their kids online and worried about images being uploaded. They're worried not only about predators in the park, next door or down the street but also about the hours their kids are spending online. Last week we announced a $70 million investment into the Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. That is a Commonwealth led effort, but it involves the other policing agencies as well. We know that, shockingly, every seven minutes a webpage shows a child being sexually abused. The Australian Federal Police have received additional funding in the 2018-19 budget. It includes that $70 million I spoke of before. The centre is expected to remove over 200 children from danger in the first year alone. It builds on the work we've done to cancel the visas of people who have been involved in sexual offences against children and women. We will build on that work for every day of this government.