Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to note Labor's support for the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Amendment Bill 2017, and, in doing so, clarify the role of the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner to promote and enforce online safety for all Australians, including children. It expands the functions of the eSafety Commissioner to broadly complement existing Australian legislation to combat cyber bullying, cyber hate, trolling and other malicious and offensive behaviour. This bill will make it easier for the public to identify where they can seek assistance and advice in relation to a range of online safety measures, irrespective of age. The bill recognises and addresses the extensive public feedback that adults, previously, had not been aware that they could also seek assistance from what was previously known as the Children's eSafety Commissioner for general advice about online safety or when they have concerns about illegal or offensive online content or the sharing of private images without consent.

This amendment is required mostly due to the Turnbull government realising that online safety is a problem facing Australians of all ages, not just children. I say it is okay to admit when you are wrong. It was the Turnbull government that decided to transfer responsibility for online safety from the Australian Communications and Media Authority to a new office, the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, two years ago. While Labor supported the introduction of the act in 2015, we noted at the time that it was out of line with the Turnbull government's 'breathless' deregulation agenda. It was clearly a case of 'regulate first, think later' by the Turnbull government.

The Labor Party supports measures that improve public access to information and advice on cyberbullying, revenge porn, image based abuse, sexting and e-safety in general, including the safe use of the internet by older Australians. Labor is firmly committed to improving cybersafety. As a mother of three children, I welcome this. The previous Labor government delivered $125.8 million towards the National Cyber Safety Plan to combat the online risks to children and to help parents and educators protect our children from inappropriate online material and malicious contact. In 2010, Labor established the Joint Select Committee on Cyber Safety as part of its commitment to investigate and improve online safety measures. The committee released a report with 32 recommendations, each of which was endorsed by the previous Labor government.

In 2015, my colleagues the member for Gellibrand and the member for Griffiths introduced a private member's bill criminalising the non-consensual sharing of nude or sexual images. So called revenge porn is widely understood as the spiteful actions of a jilted ex-partner. However, as the term has gained popularity, so has the realisation that the non-consensual sharing of nude or sexual images is increasingly being used as a tool of abuse and control by the perpetrators of domestic violence.

More than a year after my colleagues introduced their bill to criminalise the non-consensual sharing of private images, the Turnbull government continues to delay its passage through the parliament. This is just another example of the Prime Minister's great capacity to 'talk the talk'—and he certainly can talk the talk about the problem of violence against women, but his government has been much slower in actually taking any action. Australian law has failed to keep pace with the ways emerging technologies are being used to cause harm, particularly to women.

Experts agree that we need to criminalise the non-consensual sharing of private images. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said that making so-called revenge porn a criminal offence would fill a gap within the existing law. The Australian Federal Police said that 'uniformity in legislation would be most helpful for police, allowing them to investigate and charge perpetrators and abusers'. The Turnbull government has had plenty of time to act, and it has plenty of support from our national law enforcement agencies to ensure that the non-consensual sharing a private images is not tolerated.

As I have noted, Labor supported the introduction of the act in 2015, acknowledging the widespread problem of online bullying, which can have serious impacts, including depression, anxiety and, in rare cases, child suicide. Two years later, the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Amendment Bill 2017 amends the act and the title of the statutory Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner to reflect the broader role for online safety that the commissioner has for all Australians, not just Australian children. A statutory review mechanism in the legislation was necessary and appropriate given the practical concerns around implementation that were expressed by the Australian Interactive Media Association, representing Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Yahoo7. This bill, amending the remit of the office from 'children' to 'Australians', suggests that the creation of the office was not particularly well conceived at the time and that the ongoing stakeholder and parliamentary scrutiny is welcome. As more and more of our daily lives—both work and private matters—happen online the issue of online safety continues to grow and demand the attention of both lawmakers and law enforcement.

We acknowledge the prevalence of bullying online and we acknowledge the very significant and lasting harm it can have on people. In a recent RMIT survey of more than 4,000 Australians aged 16 to 45, 23 per cent reported having been a victim of image based abuse. The most common problem, affecting 20 per cent of those surveyed—an astonishing one in five people—was sexual or nude images being taken of them without their consent. Eleven per cent of those surveyed reported having sexual or nude images of them sent or distributed to others without their consent. Nine per cent of survey responders reported experiencing threats that a sexual or nude image would be sent or distributed to others without their consent. This is an alarming problem facing young people. The survey found that some groups were more likely than others to be affected. One in two Indigenous Australians, one in two Australians with a disability, and one in three lesbian, gay and bisexual Australians reported suffering from image based abuse or victimisation.

The RMIT survey concedes an important limitation to the information they collected. Victims can only self-report if they become aware that a sexual or nude image of them was either taken or distributed without their consent. The authors of the RMIT survey report acknowledge that addressing image based harms requires a combination of approaches. This would take into consideration coordinating with social media and website providers to better detect and remove material; two, introducing measures to increase legal protections; three, providing information and support services for victims. Information and support should cater for the different experiences of the diverse Australian community.

This government likes to come in here and tell us that we have done things wrong. I think it is time for them to own up, fess up and face up to the fact that they have done nothing about this. Now, finally, after four years, they are sorting out the issue.

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