Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too want to refer to death, but I want to refer to three deaths that happened as a result of mis- and disinformation. Constable Matthew Arnold was 26 when he died alongside Constable Rachel McCrow, who was 29 years of age. Constable Keely Brough and Constable Randall Kirk survived an attack on them, but Alan Dare, the neighbour of a person who was absolutely influenced by mis- and disinformation, also lost his life that day.

What we've seen from Mr Dutton, in the aftermath of the Wieambilla shootings, in the state that he purports to represent, is this statement:

… the spread of disinformation on the internet and the way in which that infects people's minds and … contributes at least to them committing extreme acts should be of concern to any right-thinking Australian.

Yet what we've seen is opposition to the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2024, which would have combatted dangerous conspiracy theories. Senator Scarr has indicated accurately that there is not sufficient support here in this chamber for this particular disinformation and misinformation bill to go through. But the reality of disinformation and misinformation in the community continues.

We saw, in the aftermath of the Bondi and Wakeley stabbings, Sussan Ley talk tough, saying Elon Musk's approach was a 'free-for-all' and that X should be forced to obey Australian laws. But the problem of misinformation and disinformation continues on X because we haven't been able to find a path forward here in the Senate. In fact, I think efforts to find a path forward together dissolved the minute that the Leader of the Opposition, in an arrogant and reckless move, determined that he should just get rid of this bill instead of work to make it an effective piece of legislation to prevent the spread of the kind of disinformation that cost the lives of those wonderful community minded public servants, the police, who went to attend to a welfare check on the Trains.

In the inquest following that terrible consequence of misinformation and disinformation, a specialist from the emergency response team made a statement about the experience, on arrival, of finding people so paranoid and so jacked up on conspiracy and information that was absolutely inaccurate. This was how it was described:

It was like nothing I've ever seen … they were almost robotic, no gestures, no yelling out.

Dr Andrew Aboud, a forensic psychiatrist, went to evidence about was happening behind the scenes that led to the deaths of constables serving their nation, because of misinformation and disinformation. The digital footprint revealed the extent of the delusions of Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train, and there were four areas of major concern. Gareth Train, in particular, focused on conspiracy theories. They are just one source of misinformation and disinformation, and, certainly, this bill is not going to go through today and is not going to be re-introduced, but the problem is not going to go away. Gareth Train had a belief that he was being monitored by government agencies, and he was led to believe, through deep immersion in disinformation and misinformation, that police were state actors, devils and demons.

That is why we saw him take that devastating action. He even believed that neurological bioweapons were being manipulated that would turn humans into nonhumans. That is the sort of mis- and disinformation that remains a problem for Australia to deal with. This legislation is not going to advance but the problem remains.