David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition committed the coalition to a social media age limit of 16 back in June. It should have happened then, but we're pleased it is finally happening now. This issue is urgent. As the Leader of the Opposition has said, we need to pass legislation by next week. The impact of social media on children is one of the defining issues of our era. Parents lie awake at night, worrying about what their kids are being exposed to on Snapchat or TikTok or Instagram. And they are right to worry. We've seen very disturbing mental health trends for Australian children, especially girls, over the past decade. Social media is playing a major role in that devastation.

We welcome the fact that Snapchat is now included in the legislation. Snapchat has brought despair, and sometimes tragedy, to many Australian families. We'll work in good faith with the government to finalise this legislation. In particular, we want to ensure that very robust privacy protections are in place. We want to ensure that social media companies must start right now to implement these laws. There is no time to waste. In June, the Leader of the Opposition made a crucial commitment that sparked a national debate. Next week, we can conclude that debate by all standing together in this place to protect Australian children.