Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017. This bill is the result of a campaign by the mother of Carly Ryan, Sonya Ryan, whose daughter was brutally raped and murdered by an online predator. There have been multiple versions of this bill, which will enable the police to intervene earlier in circumstances where an adult has misrepresented their age to a minor. The bill before us today has the intent of ensuring that our laws are adequate to keep children safe online. This bill goes further than previous versions of the bill. It addresses any conduct that is undertaken using a carriage service with the intention to prepare or plan to cause harm to, engage in sexual activity with or procure for sexual activity a person under the age of 16. This bill also goes further than the existing procurement and grooming offences in the Criminal Code because it captures a broader range of preparatory conduct. It captures preparing or planning to cause harm where there is no sexual intent. It does not require communication with a specific recipient, which will enable the offence to capture individuals broadcasting information to a large audience.

The evolving nature of the internet means that we must continuously update our laws to keep pace with the rate of change. There are new ways that people are using technology to cause harm, particularly to children, and it is our responsibility as parliamentarians to keep children safe. Carly Ryan was the first Australian girl to be murdered by an online predator, in 2007. She thought she was chatting to a boy her age when it was actually a 50-year-old, Garry Newman, an online sexual predator who had a complex web of online identities used to groom underage girls. Since then, the online presence of predators has increased, as has their ability to do harm to children online. Since the tragic death of Carly Ryan, her mother, who is in the chamber today, has fought to change the law to ensure that no other Australian children meet the same fate. Sonya Ryan should be commended for her efforts, and the bill before us today is a tribute to her advocacy. Although it has a long name—the Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017—it is known as 'Carly's law' because it has been brought to the parliament in her memory.

Making new laws that aim to regulate the internet or how it is used is inherently difficult. Nevertheless, it is important that our laws evolve to reflect new online threats, and this is what Carly's law is driven by. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, of which Senator Pratt is the deputy chair, has recommended that the bill be passed without amendment. This is after a number of hearings in which the committee heard from multiple submitters about the operation of this bill, including the Law Council of Australia, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian Federal Police and Sonya Ryan of the Carly Ryan Foundation.

Labor have always been clear that we support the intent of this bill, and I am pleased that the bill is now finally in a form that can be passed by this parliament. We will always ensure that our laws work to keep children safe, and that our police and prosecutors have the powers and the resources they need to prevent harm occurring in the first place.