Judith Troeth (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Ellison. Will the minister update the Senate on the efforts of the Australian Federal Police to combat online child sex exploitation?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The protection of children in any community is of course an absolute priority. That is why this question from Senator Troeth is so important and of great interest to all Australians, but especially parents of young children. We have heard from Senator Coonan about the great initiative that was announced today in relation to the protection being given to children via a choice for parents in relation to filters for the internet.

On the other side of our war against child pornography and the abuse of children, the Online Child Sex Exploitation Team in the AFP has been doing a great job, working with state and territory police as well as with international law enforcement in fighting paedophilia and the perverts who get on the internet to entice children into their web. We have seen 15 arrests—15 people charged—by the OCSET, and another 24 referrals are being considered by the DPP.

Importantly, the AFP has provided 111 packages of evidence to overseas law enforcement. That reminds us, of course, that the use of the internet is global; it knows no barriers. We have paedophiles on the internet around the world targeting children, and of course it is not only Australian children that are at risk in that regard. Importantly, the Australian Federal Police is doing a great job working with the FBI, the Serious Organised Crime Agency in the UK, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and others in a virtual global task force, which operates 24/7 in tracking down people who use the internet to prey on children.

I want to commend the state and territory police for the work they are doing with the AFP. We have provided some 535 referrals to the state and territory police, because they have an important role in this as well. Not one government and not one police force can win this fight alone. We are intent on fighting this as a nation, with the cooperation of the states and territories, as well as with our international counterparts.

I want to acknowledge our appreciation, while our Malaysian friends are in the chamber, for the great cooperation we get from the Malaysian police in this and other regards. This is a very important fight that we have. It is one which the Howard government is totally committed to. We announced at the last election, as an election commitment, plans to dedicate a specific team—the Online Child Sex Exploitation Team—in the AFP, combined with our High Tech Crime Centre to crack down on child pornography on the internet.

As well as that, we have introduced laws with tough penalties for people who access, transmit or download child pornography on the internet. Importantly, the penalties provide heavy jail terms for people who anonymously target children on the internet and who groom children with the intent of drawing them into their web. With that specific offence, we have made it easier for prosecutors to prosecute the people who want to carry out their evil intentions via the internet. This, combined with the excellent initiatives announced by my colleague Senator Coonan, represents a whole-of-government approach in the fight against child pornography and the people who want to pervert our children via the internet.