Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Coonan. Many Australian parents and carers are looking forward to the start of NetAlert’s National Filter Scheme which will give families practical support and a free filter to counteract offensive internet content. Will the minister outline to the Senate how the government’s new program can assist in keeping children safe from dangerous internet risks? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to Senator Nash for her question. As a parent, I know that this issue is absolutely at the front of her mind and front of mind of parents right across Australia. The Howard government have a serious commitment to protecting all Australian children. We have seen this with the way in which we have intervened in Northern Territory Indigenous communities to halt systemic child sexual abuse and we saw it again on display last Friday with the launch of the government’s $189 million NetAlert program with the Prime Minister. As a parent I know that there is nothing more important to parents than keeping their children safe. Increasingly, parents are worried about the way in which the online world impacts their family. That is why the Howard government have invested over $189 million into our NetAlert program to give parents the best protection we can provide when it comes to keeping children safe online.

I can announce that next Monday, 20 August, NetAlert’s National Filter Scheme will go live. From Monday, every Australian family will have access to a free PC based internet filter from a specially designed internet web portal. These free filters will filter the internet against the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s black list and the list of banned internet sites. To ensure that we deliver the best available technology to parents, these PC filters have all been independently tested and will offer families protection against offensive web email and, most importantly, chat room content. Based on all our research with families, it is the chat room content aspect which most concerns parents, as chat rooms can and do expose children to risk and unwelcome stranger contact.

This is a challenging area for parents, where they need the help of government and law enforcement to keep their families safe. Whilst we acknowledge that nothing can replace parents in keeping children from harm, this government is serious about giving parents the full range of assistance and support we can to help make their job easier. We have backed up the $84.8 million National Filter Scheme with over $43 million of law enforcement funding to the Australian Federal Police Online Child Sex Exploitation Team, and we have boosted funding for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. We mean business. We have funded more hands-on internet safety officers for schools and we will shortly commence a public information campaign to inform and educate parents, who may find the internet intimidating, about the kind of online risks their families face.

None of these measures is sufficient by itself. It is a complex matter, and the parents of Australia deserve comprehensive help from government to keep their families safe. I gather from the chat on the other side of the chamber that Labor have underscored the fact that they do not have any interest or commitment to getting on top of what really concerns parents. They have not put up even one dollar of funding to deal with the internet risk facing our children. Only this government has the commitment to protect Australian families online.

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why did you join the Labor Party, then?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Come Monday, I encourage all those caring for children—including Senator Faulkner, who obviously could not give a toss—to ring the family support hotline: 1800880176.