Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I echo and share the remarks of my colleague Senator Kakoschke-Moore who has worked so hard on this with me. Since Carly's murder on 20 February 2007 by an online predator, the very first murder of this type in this country, Sonya Ryan could have been consumed by grief and then hatred. However, she has turned a most terrible event into a testament of love to her daughter.

Sonya has campaigned relentlessly to keep children safe. She has spoken to tens of thousands of schoolchildren around the country—school after school after school—to warn them of the dangers of online predators. I have seen the videos of Sonya speaking to schools, and you could hear a pin drop such is her story. It is so compelling, and such is her moral authority that it cannot be ignored.

This bill has come about because, essentially, this parliament got together, even those who disagreed with this bill—the Australian Greens. We have all done it with a good heart and in good faith. The fact that the Australian Greens have said, 'We don't want to hold up this bill. Let it go through as non-controversial business,' I think speaks to their goodwill and their good heart on this.

The government and the Attorney-General, Senator Brandis, whom I pestered on many occasions about this, have been gracious, and the shadow Attorney-General, Mr Dreyfus, similarly has been gracious in the way he has dealt with this. This is the parliament working at its best. This is what happens when we get together on a common cause for what I believe is, overwhelmingly, to the community benefit. This will make it more difficult for predators to do their evil. This will make it easier for the police to intervene. There is no excuse in my view for an adult to lie about their age to a child online and then attempt to meet that child. That does not pass any reasonable standard, any test, in the community.

I say this: it has been a long time coming. This is testament to the love of Sonya Ryan for her daughter, and this act of love, this relentless campaign, this passion of Sonya's, will undoubtedly lead to many lives being saved in the future and many children being protected from harm. So I thank everyone in this chamber from all parties for their goodwill and their good heart for what we have achieved today.