Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all the honourable members who have contributed to this debate, particularly the member for La Trobe whose comments I just listened to. This bill introduces tough new offences for adults who use a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to a child, engage in sexual activity with a child or procure a child to engage in sexual activity. Importantly, these new offences will cover adults who misrepresent their age online as part of a plan to harm a child. This offence will complement existing online child sex offences for preparatory conduct, including grooming or procuring a child for sexual activity. The bill takes this protection one step further: ensuring that those who use a carriage service to plan or prepare to harm children are also captured by the criminal justice system. The evolving nature of the internet and the anonymous nature of the internet unfortunately provide unprecedented opportunities for online predators to harm and exploit children. The offence proposed in this bill carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, and this serves as a very significant deterrent to predators who would seek to harm our children. This offence will allow law enforcement to take action against online predators sooner and with far greater consequence. The bill also continues the government's proactive approach to legislative amendment in light of rapid technological change.

The bill was referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. The committee has literally moments ago reported on this bill and recommended that the bill be passed with no amendments. I welcome the committee's having reached that conclusion, although it did seem to me to be a rather drawn-out process for a bill that I would consider to be a complete and utter no-brainer. I would have thought that this was a bill that was very easy for anyone in this House—indeed, for anyone in the other place—to support. Although the committee process insisted on having public hearings—I am not sure why—it continued to delay the passage of this bill in a way that I do not think was particularly helpful. I think that this bill is very easy to support, sends a clear message to the community that we will not tolerate behaviour that will harm our children, offers our children greater protection and continues to serve as a strong deterrent to predators. I thank honourable members for their contributions to this bill, I commend it to the House, and I would hope that it passes expeditiously.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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