David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Payman for bringing forward this matter of public importance on exposure to online pornography. This is indeed something we should be turning our attention to more often. We live in an age when most young people have high-speed internet in their pocket. I would assume that most people in this place are very grateful that they got through their teens without that—without being able, in their room, to access the internet on their phone.

A UK Children Commissioner's report on young people's pornography use found that the average age at which children first see pornography is 13. By age nine, 10 per cent of a sample of 1,000 young people had seen pornography; 27 per cent had seen it by the age of 11, and 50 per cent of children had seen it by the age of 13. Additionally, 79 per cent had encountered violent pornography before the age of 18. We're setting young people up for failure if this is their first interaction or viewing of what they think is sex. We have to do better as a society.

I've had many parents raise this with me. We know that children describe seeing online porn on platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok, according to the eSafety Commissioner. We have to do more as a parliament to look after young people in Australia.