Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month I had the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and the shadow minister for housing and homelessness, Jason Clare, join me at an event hosted by Bonnie Support Services at Cabramatta in the heart of my electorate. The event was an opportunity to discuss some of the very pressing issues facing my community, particularly the issue of domestic violence and the increasing prevalence of that during the COVID-19 pandemic. The highlighting of the issue of domestic violence has been brought about in light of a range of issues that have demonstrated the urgent need for more crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing violence.

I take this opportunity to thank Tracy Phillips, the executive officer of Bonnie Support Services, and Ms An Le, the program manager, for their ongoing advocacy and community education in respect of domestic violence. As Tracy Phillips notes, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an array of challenges for the support services provided by their organisation. She says, 'It's been a very complex 14 months or so since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact on Bonnie has been enormous, as no doubt it has been on all services specialising in homeless areas.' Tracy went on to say, 'We saw a doubling in the number of clients from the 2019-20 financial year, and currently our numbers are running extremely high.'

These statistics really put in perspective the dire situation faced by organisations like Bonnie Support Services in my community and indeed across the nation. I'm told that Bonnie have not only seen an increase in the number of women and children experiencing domestic violence over the past year but also seen a significant increase in the complexity of these matters during the pandemic. The nature of domestic violence sees women almost isolated before they leave the perpetrator, and in COVID-19 that's only been exacerbated. These feelings are due to the lockdown restrictions and socialised isolation provisions. There have been plenty of examples and case studies from Bonnie's of women who are struggling to buy the essential groceries for their families or put food on the table, with the finances of many of these women impacted by the economic ramifications of the pandemic. In many cases women have lost their employment or have been forced to give up their employment to look after children during these lockdown periods.

I'm also advised of the added challenge faced during the pandemic by organisations such as Bonnie's in dealing with clients who are on temporary visas but still nevertheless are experiencing domestic violence. Now, many of these people have either lost their employment or have no work rights and no access to welfare. These women are also very socially isolated and may not have family or friends in the country who can provide housing or support. These women are most vulnerable and in most cases ineligible for any long-term public housing.

It is clear that the biggest challenge facing Bonnie's and similar organisations is the severe shortage of affordable and social housing. Local service providers are struggling to keep up with the demand for crisis accommodation and transitional housing as the number of women sleeping rough in our community continues to rise. With the lack of long-term social and affordable housing, many women are facing domestic violence and continue either to be pushed into homelessness or to risk returning to a violent partner. In a country like ours, this is just not acceptable.

Access to affordable, safe and sustainable housing for women experiencing domestic violence is a basic human right, and there is much more that this government can do to address this crisis. That's why I am proud of Labor's commitment, as part of our housing policy, to 4,000 social housing properties to be set aside for women and children fleeing domestic violence. After all, it is what all the experts and those working in the field have been saying is the only viable solution to this crisis. To Tracy Phillips and her team at Bonnie Support Services, on behalf of a very grateful community I say thank you. Your commitment to the community makes a difference for the better.

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

I rise to speak about online safety. Australian children are immersing themselves in the online world rapidly through social media sites, online games, smartphones and tablets. The vast majority of teenagers are using social media. In fact, if you ask a group of 15-year-olds if they're on Facebook, Instagram or one of the other social media providers, almost all their hands go up. Even amongst children as young as eight, a large number report that they use these devices despite most sites having a policy that users must be 13 years of age. Social media is creating a substantial workload for school principals and teachers as well as parents. Creating a specific technology policy guideline in schools has become the norm now. If you ask a group of parents and carers what they are worried about, keeping their children safe online is one of their main concerns. The fear of predators, trolls and cyberbullying preoccupies parents and carers across Australia.

The fear is real and justified. Last week I met with the inspirational Sonya Ryan. Following the murder of her beautiful daughter, Carly, in 2007 by an online predator, the first crime of its type in Australia, Sonya channelled her grief and set up the Carly Ryan Foundation. Set up in her daughter's honour, the foundation aims to help other children and families navigate the online world safely. Sonya is determined to help prevent harm to other children. As Sonya said herself, 'What defines us as humans is how well we rise from such devastation.' Sonya is not trying to scare young people from social media but make them aware that people online are not necessarily who they say they are.

A good government takes responsibility for protecting its citizens, and that is exactly what the Morrison government is doing. The government will invest $5.2 million in a national online safety awareness campaign. This digital campaign will raise awareness of the new Online Safety Act when it becomes law and the new and strengthened schemes that will be available through the eSafety Commissioner.

An important part of the coalition's policy work has been to carefully review the evidence about the pervasiveness and seriousness of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying occurs in a variety of ways through a range of digital devices and mediums, most commonly through smartphones and social media sites. The posting of humiliating or harmful photos, videos or rumours is often exacerbated by other social media features such as comments, shares and likes, which can rapidly promote the spread of the damaging content. Cyberbullying can have very, very serious effects, including anxiety, depression, behavioural problems and even suicidal thoughts. The evidence strongly suggests that the remedy people want more than anything else in this situation is simply to get the harmful material down quickly, but that can be difficult to do. The online safety awareness campaign will promote a world-first adult cyberabuse scheme which will allow Australian adults who experience seriously harmful online abuse to have this material removed from the internet. The campaign will also promote the expanded cyberbullying scheme for children, which will capture a wider range of online services; a strengthened image based abuse scheme to address the non-consensual sharing of intimate images; and an online content scheme that will allow for the removal of the worst of the worst online content, no matter where in the world it is hosted. The campaign will also guide Australians to the resources, support and practical advice available through the eSafety Commissioner about staying safe online.

This digital campaign will raise awareness of the new Online Safety Act when it becomes law and the new and strengthened schemes that will be available through the eSafety Commissioner. In addition to this, I note the federal government's women's safety package, including the $21 million investment in women's online safety initiatives in the 2021-22 budget. The funding will allow the eSafety Commissioner to recruit 20 new staff to expand its Cyber Report team and strengthen its capacity to investigate and respond to reports of cyberabuse and other forms of harmful online content. The funding will allow for more rapid responses to reports of online harassment, abuse and harmful online content. It will also deliver an analysis capability for eSafety to identify trends, develop response strategies and provide strategic advice.

By raising awareness of the support and services available through the eSafety Commissioner, the federal government will empower Australians to engage more confidently in the digital environment.