Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the Albanese Labor government working to protect Australians from online harms?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Chisholm for her question. I'm sure she, like me, has had the experience of talking to parents, whether that be in our neighbourhoods, outside schools or on the side of sporting fields, discussing what issues they're really concerned about with their young ones growing up. I think every parent in this country has been concerned about the impact of social media and about what their son or daughter might be being exposed to online. That's why we need to work not just as governments but as a whole society to address this challenge to our way of life and the impact that it has particularly on developing minds.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why wouldn't you agree to our age verification?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fisher has been exercised right throughout question time, and he'll now leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Fisher then left the chamber.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm surprised that this is controversial in this parliament. I would have thought we all have an interest in working on this.

That's why we quadrupled funding for the eSafety Commissioner in last year's budget. We're reviewing the Online Safety Act to ensure they have the power needed to keep Australians safe; that includes classification reform to address the availability of very violent pornography. In addition to that, the government has established the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society, chaired by the member for Jagajaga, with its interim report due in August.

We support minimum-age limits on social media for account creation, and our budget has funded an age assurance trial. We need to ensure and explore which technologies are most effective in limiting kids' exposure to inappropriate material, including pornography, but also to social media. This is a challenge. It's not simple; you can't just close one door online if another one can be opened up somewhere else, including through international registrations. It is something we need to get right, which is why we allocated $6½ million in the budget. We know that existing age limits have not been adequately enforced or are too easy to get around. We are running counterinfluence campaigns online as well, so we can directly challenge misogynist and harmful views in the places where this content gets viewed.

On the issue of domestic violence and safety for women and children: this is a major topic that will be considered again by National Cabinet when we meet in the third quarter. The government is committed to addressing online harms where they occur on social media platforms or anywhere else on the internet.