Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

WHITE () (): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, Senator Watt. We know it is fundamental that our online world is a safe and inclusive environment. The eSafety Commissioner plays a key role in regulating the online world and achieving these objectives. What challenges does the eSafety Commissioner face in supporting the government's objectives?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Senator Henderson?

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I said the government didn't provide—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order across the chamber! Senator Watt—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry; Senator Henderson was just interjecting. I wasn't quite sure what she was saying.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I draw you to Senator White's question.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator White for the question. Recently, when I was in Darwin, my staff and I were following a Land Cruiser along the Esplanade that had a Do it for Dolly sticker on the back. It reminded me of the harrowing experience of Dolly Everett, which no child should endure, and the work that has been done since then to improve online safety. I do give the former government credit, as does the Prime Minister, for the work they did in this space. Maintaining online safety is a core priority for the Albanese government.

That's why we are supporting the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's independent regulator for online safety, particularly as the eSafety Commissioner undertakes critically important work to raise the bar for online safety and hold platforms to account for their actions to keep Australians safe. Whether it is tackling online child sexual exploitation material, combating cyberbullying and harassment, or making dating apps safer, I think we can all agree that the work they do is critical for our society. However, I think senators would be astounded to know that, despite the eSafety Commissioner's important role, eSafety has been operating without funding certainty—thanks to decisions taken by those opposite.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's completely untrue. You're misleading the Senate.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, are you interjecting? The fact is that eSafety has been relying on non-ongoing or terminating funding—

Senator McGrath, are you interjecting?

Honourable senators interjecting—

The:

Senators, order! Order across the chamber.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Stand up at the end of question time like everyone else.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong and Senator Henderson! Order across the chamber. Senator Henderson?

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to put on the record that Senator Wong did actually invite me to say something on the record about this matter.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, you and every other senator in this place know that it is disorderly to call out across the chamber. Minister Watt.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, I think senators would be astounded to know that eSafety has been operating without funding certainty—thanks to decisions taken by those opposite. The fact is that eSafety has been relying on non-ongoing or terminating funding for years. This was a deliberate design feature of the former Liberal-National Party government's budget policy. Can you believe that eSafety's base funding of $10.3 million has never been increased since eSafety was established in 2015, and that's despite its widening powers every year? (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator White, first supplementary?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that funding cliffs were a deliberate design feature of the Liberal-National government's budget strategy. What does the funding profile look like for eSafety going forward?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator White. It is astounding to know that, thanks to funding decisions by the now opposition, after 30 June this year eSafety and the eSafety Commissioner will face a funding cliff. In the coalition's last budget the overall funding for eSafety was forecast to drop from $53.8 million to $23.3 million—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

a more than 50 per cent decrease in funding to the eSafety Commissioner of our country.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, I've called you to order.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like every budget announced in the last government, they went for short-term, non-ongoing measures and never addressed the structural underfunding of key agencies. Did the coalition really think that, once the clock turned over to 1 July this year, all the online exploitation material would just vanish from the internet? Did they really think that all the misuse of dating apps—

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last October you did nothing.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, I've called you to order about three times. Interjections across the chamber are disorderly and disrespectful. Minister Watt, please continue.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These are the funding cliffs that we find littered throughout the budget, even when it comes to important issues like e-safety. It's another mess that Labor has to fix. (Time expired)

The:

Senator White, second supplementary?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I guess it's fair to say that Labor has been left to clean up the mess left by those opposite. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to support online safety for Australians?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator White. You're right. All week we have highlighted examples of the former government's deliberate design feature of funding cliffs throughout the budget. In my own portfolio of agriculture when it comes to biosecurity, emergency management, eSafety, My Health records—the list goes on and on where this government thought that miraculously the whole world would change on 1 July and important permanent functions were not going to need ongoing funding. This is another example of it.

The Albanese government is now undertaking the substantive work to ensure that the Online Safety Act is successfully implemented, together with the eSafety Commissioner. eSafety has been undertaking important work in relation to the basic online safety expectations outlined in the act. Recently they issued a second set of reporting notices to seven digital platforms on the steps they are taking to tackle online child sexual exploitation material. Every day there will be new challenges that emerge, and the Albanese government is committed to continuing the important work to make online activity safer. (Time expired)