Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government is working to keep women and children safe online?

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Reid for this important question and acknowledge her deep expertise in this area as a clinical psychologist with strong interest in, and knowledge about, the issues of online safety and the impact it has on the safety of children and of women. The sad fact is that too many Australians are subject to vicious online abuse. We have had some high-profile instances over recent years: Erin Molan, Tayla Harris and, sadly, Dolly Everett and Charlotte Dawson, both of whom tragically took their own lives, with online abuse a significant triggering factor. I have mentioned women because the sad fact is that women suffer more abuse online than men.

Our government has taken many steps to work to keep women and children—all Australians, but women and children particularly—safe online. We established the Children's eSafety Commissioner in 2015 and introduced a scheme to deal with the cyberbullying of children. We followed that in 2017 with a scheme to deal with the unauthorised sharing of intimate images. This is something which overwhelmingly affects women, and it is devastating for the victims when this occurs. It is absolutely devastating, and we have introduced effective legislation to deal with it. Of course, we are now taking further action designed to keep Australians and particularly women safe online. We have committed more than $100 million over the next three years for the eSafety Commissioner, and our new Online Safety Bill expands her powers and includes a new scheme to deal with serious cyberabuse directed at adults.

Today the tech industry's peak body had an op-ed in The Sydney Morning Herald essentially saying, 'We need more time to get the details right.' That's their commentary on our new legislation. I'm sorry to say that the tech sector has said this every time that we have sought to introduce new measures to keep Australians safe online. I can say very clearly to the House that when it comes to a choice between keeping Australians—overwhelmingly and particularly women and children—safe online and protecting the profits of big tech, the Morrison government will make one choice every time. We are determined to do what it takes to have the rule of law prevail online. We are determined to do what it takes to require that big tech does what is necessary to keep Australians safe online. Our eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, is leading that fight, and we are backing her all the way with more than $100 million in funding and strong new powers in our Online Safety Bill.