Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, the Hon. Senator Coonan. It is with great pleasure that I ask this question. In fact, this is my favourite and best question that I have had this year. Will the minister advise the Senate of how the Howard government is fighting back against the scourge of internet pornography? 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

I thank Senator Barnett for the question and for his longstanding interest in this matter. I also acknowledge the longstanding interest of Senator Fielding in these issues. Today I am very pleased to announce a new $116.6 million package to protect Australian children and families on the internet. The Protecting Australian Families Online package is about educating parents about the dangers lurking on the internet and equipping them with the tools they need to make sure that, when their children venture into cyberspace, they do so safely. You would not send your children out to ride a bike without a helmet or let them travel in a car without a seatbelt, so, as parents, why would we let them surf the internet without the protection of an effective filter? After a comprehensive evaluation on the best way forward, it is clear to me that the solution needs to be simple, effective, safe and free. The government’s Protecting Australian Families Online package that I am announcing today will put a safer internet experience within the grasp of every Australian family.

Today I can announce that the government will provide every Australian family that wants one with a free internet filter or filtered service. Protecting Australian Families Online will also include free filters for Australian libraries so that they can set up child-friendly filtered computers in every library across the country. I will be encouraging my state and territory counterparts to ensure libraries in their states take up this offer. Internet safety agency NetAlert will now be co-located with the regulator, ACMA, in Melbourne. It will also receive an additional $5 million to expand its educational activities and more actively promote its website and 1800 number as a one-stop information shop for parents with internet safety concerns. A comprehensive national community education campaign worth $18.2 million will also be conducted to ensure that all Australian families are aware of the benefits of regulating their children’s internet experience by using a safe and efficient PC based filter.

The Protecting Australian Families Online package complements the range of measures already in place to protect Australian families. In an effort to ensure that we are using the most effective means at our disposal to crack down on offensive and inappropriate material on the internet, ACMA will undertake a further trial of ISP based filtering in Tasmania. Unlike the ALP with their so-called clean feed, which is far from clean, we are more interested in effective solutions rather than half-baked ones. We want parents to have comprehensive tools rather than a false sense of security. We are focused on a safer internet rather than a catchy sound bite. The Howard government will continue to help parents protect their children on the internet as part of our ongoing commitment to the safety of Australian families.