Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that the Government has established the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) as the frontline defence in the Government's fight to protect children from predators online, in Australia and across the world;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) ACCCE brings together the specialist expertise and skills from government agencies, law enforcement and advocacy groups, in a central hub, to investigate cases of child exploitation and to implement prevention strategies;

(b) in the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, the ACCCE received more than 21,000 incoming reports of child exploitation, compared with 14,000 in 2018-2019, from this, 134 children were removed from harm; and

(c) recent operations by the ACCCE removed 16 children in Australia from harm and arrested 44 offenders with 350 charges collectively;

(3) welcomes the Government's significant investment in establishing the ACCCE, with $68.6 million committed over four years to further the crucial work they do to protect children;

(4) notes the recent opening of the new purpose-built facility and thanks all the Australian Federal Police and state police officers for their selfless work in tracking and apprehending predators; and

(5) commits to the ongoing safety of all Australian children, both online and in our communities, by continuing the Government's recent investment in anti-exploitation measures.

As a young dad there is nothing more important to me than protecting my kids and I know it's the same for every parent in the Ryan electorate. Child sexual abuse is a very real threat in Australia. It is a scourge that we must not shy away from and we must tackle head-on and with courage. It's highly confronting. The things that we hear in this space are terrible crimes that you can barely manage to hear or to consider, but we can't stay silent on this issue. That is what the predators count on. I have said it before in this place: these predators count on us turning down the TV or turning the page of the newspaper when we hear or see the horrors of these stories. We can't do that. We must talk about these issues. We must talk, importantly, about its prevalence in our community, so that parents know the risk—they must talk about it with their kids—so that we can work together as a community to prevent it.

It's for this reason that I rise and move this motion today on the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, known as the ACCCE. I want to start by acknowledging the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister Dutton, for being the driving force behind the establishment of the ACCCE and for his unwavering commitment to find, stop and prosecute these sickening offenders.

In response to an increasing number and severity of reports of child exploitation received by Australian law enforcement agencies, in 2018 the Morrison government, with a $68.6 million commitment, established the ACCCE. For those not familiar with it, it is led by the AFP and brings together skills across public and private sectors, all working together in one central hub, to protect our kids. The ACCCE provides a capability that no single federal or state agency has by itself, provides a conduit for foreign law enforcement to tackle the borderless crime that is creating and sharing child abuse material. It has been joined by some world renowned child protection personnel now working right here in Australia.

Last year I got to visit the ACCCE in person, because it's located in my home town of Brisbane, and I spoke to the many dedicated employees and officers who are working there. The work done by each and every team member is incredible and we are really in their debt for the work that they do. I just want you to imagine the work that they do because it is hard to fathom. They work through thousands of reported images of the most disturbing nature. They are going through these materials and these pictures, intercepting messages across the dark web, posing in these forums as pedophiles themselves in order to infiltrate the networks of offenders producing and sharing this content. Many of them, as they are doing this, are parents themselves and have their own kids in the back of their minds. You cannot even come close to imagining the challenges that their work poses. Thank you, a very real thank you that we're expressing today as a House, doesn't even come close to expressing the gratitude that they deserve. That's why I have moved this motion in this place to thank them for all their efforts. The difference that they are making is profound.

Recently in this place, together with my friend the member for Macnamara, who's here, we launched a parliamentary Friends of Combating Child Exploitation in Australia and the ACCCE. It shows you what a bipartisan effort this particular field is. There are no politics when it comes to stopping child exploitation. I know that every member of the Labor Party is dedicated, as we are, to ensuring that it happens. The member for Macnamara's passion for this is greatly appreciated by me and other parents.

During the launch we heard from the Assistant Commissioner Northern Command, Lesa Gale, and Detective Sergeant Kate Laidler from the AFP victim identification unit, who provided an update on Operation Arkstone, which is being run from the ACCCE Operation Arkstone has resulted in 46 children being removed from harm, including 16 from a child-care centre—these are kids in Australia right now—and 828 charges being laid. The victims range from 16 months to 15 years, with an average age of eight years old. The positions of the alleged offenders were child-care workers, a volunteer soccer coach, a disability support worker, an electrician, a supermarket employee and a chef. These are people who have been invested with a great deal of responsibility and trust by parents and our community, and they have abused in the most horrible way.

Since its inception over the last two years, the ACCCE has led to 1,214 charges being laid by the AFP, 161 arrests and 28,000 reports of child abuse triaged. We owe them our great thanks on behalf of all Australians for the tough work that they're doing for Australian families.

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