Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to commend the motion of the member for Forrest on cyber-safety and to speak in support of it. As the motion states, cyberbullying and inadequate cybersafety pose a significant threat to the welfare and security of all Australians—especially young people. This threat will increase with new technology and greater connectivity.

Before I get into the body of the speech, I would just like to recognise and acknowledge the work of the member for Forrest and her continual forums that she holds in schools educating and telling our children, the children of Australia, about the threats of cyberbullying and the ways to protect themselves from that. She has brought this motion to the House and I would like to acknowledge the fine work she does in her electorate to prevent cyberbullying.

The best way to combat this threat and ensure that generations of young Australians can benefit safely from new technology and increased connectivity online is for the government to enhance cybersafety education in all Australian schools. The risks children may face on the internet are currently one of the most significant welfare concerns facing Australians and it is essential that this parliament acts decisively to ensure our young people are equipped with the knowledge to use online tools safely.

I addressed the House in 2011 on the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011. I then spoke briefly about a visit I made to the Carlisle Primary School in my electorate of Swan to talk to the students about cybersecurity and the importance of protecting their online image. At the time I commended Carlisle Primary School's anti-cyberbullying stance and encouraged other schools to do the same. While I believe most schools have a non-tolerance policy for cyberbullying, it is essential that we assist our local schools to teach our students about online cybersafety and security.

For example, there were students I spoke to who thought that the photos or personal information they shared on sites such as Facebook were secure and private. Clearly that is not the case, as with many other social media platforms children and adults use. Many also did not realise that what they posted would be recorded online forever even if they deleted it. What they post online today may affect their future when it comes to applying for a job or acceptance into university. This is why it is so essential that we continue to educate our young people on internet usage, acceptable online etiquette and behaviour.

I also spoke to the Sevenoaks Senior College at one stage, talking to them about online images. I asked them to imagine what it would be like for them now to see a picture of their mother or father online from 20 years ago. I said to them, 'If you now post these pictures of yourself in awkward positions, this is what your children will see in the future.' I think they go it then when they imagined trying to see their own parents.

The internet and the world we live in are constantly changing. New social platforms and ways to interact online are constantly emerging. People are becoming more knowledgeable about the online world and more people from are countries are using worldwide web services. With these advances come many great opportunities but the risks will always increase as well. This is why a one-off education and an occasional research paper on cybersafety are not enough to continue to protect and educate our young people. It has been suggested that cybersafety should be a part of the national curriculum, taught alongside information technology and computing classes. This is a possibility that could be explored to ensure that future generations will be equipped with the knowledge necessary to stay safe online.

Unfortunately, Australia is lagging in the cyber education front. Whilst many schools run programs such as cyber friendly schools project introduced by Edith Cowan University in my home state of Western Australia, these programs are often voluntary and are not consistently utilised in all schools. I must also acknowledge the Youth Advisory Group on Cybersafety, or YAG, which was first launched in 2009 with the purpose to provide feedback and advice in youth cyber issues to the Australian government. The program is a forum which allows representatives from schools across Australia to come together and discuss their experiences with online issues such as cybersecurity and cyberbullying. This is a good first step. However, to successfully reduce the incidence of cyber related issues—be they related to online bullies, scammers or predators—the Australian government must be prepared to support a focused nationwide cybersafety education program that is common to all schools across Australia.

The United Kingdom has already adopted cybersafety education in their national curriculum which has been widely welcomed by education and cybersafety experts in the UK. Children need the advice and skillsets to recognise and avoid online dangers.

Young people are particularly active on the internet, which makes them one of the groups most vulnerable to lapses in cyber-security. This young generation are more tech-savvy than their parents—I know my son is—and they rely on technology on a day-to-day basis, be it for social interaction, learning or productivity. With many young people having close to unlimited access to the world wide web through a variety of devices such at internet-enabled smartphones, tablet computers, laptops and various family PCs, it is essential that they are equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves. According to a Telstra report released earlier this year, Australian children aged between 10 and 17 are online for an average of two hours per day, amongst the highest internet usage rates in the world.

The internet can be a confronting place for many parents. While their children are learning more and more skills online, such as reading and mathematics, they are also navigating a plethora of social networking sites, blogs and chat rooms, on which they can unwittingly divulge personal information, act anonymously with no accountability or even take on a whole completely new persona. Furthermore, online predators can potentially communicate with them 24/7 on any screen or internet-connected device inside the family home.

Although law enforcement agencies in Australia and around the world are getting better at apprehending and preventing cyber-predators, scammers and bullies, they will not disappear from the internet; instead, their ploys and schemes will become even more sophisticated and seemingly genuine. This, however, is no reason to abandon the benefits and opportunities the internet can provide. Rigorous education for both children and parents is the best means to ensure that our children are forewarned and equipped to recognise and protect themselves against the online bullies, scammers and predators.

I would like to take the opportunity to describe some of the issues our young people may face when interacting online, to illustrate why education for both children and parents is necessary in this cyber age. The first is known as cyber-bullying. The Australian parliament report of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety defined cyber-bullying as being over time and including, but not limited to, mean, nasty or threatening text messages, instant messengers, pictures, video clips and emails that are sent direct to a person or others via a mobile phone or the internet. Cyber-bullying is different to traditional face-to-face schoolyard bullying, as the perpetrators are able to remain anonymous and the bullying can continue 24/7—out of the schoolyard and into the victims' homes.

Due to the ultra-invasive nature of cyber-bullying, experts believe it can be even more damaging and hard to escape than face-to-face bullying. Cyber-bullying can be incredibly hard for children to cope with, but studies have shown that when children are equipped with the appropriate coping mechanisms and knowledge, they are often able to prevent or block the bullying from occurring. Reports indicate that as many as one in 10 children will become victims of cyber-bullying and up to one in four have experienced cyber-bullying in some way, either as a victim, a witness or a perpetrator.

It is also incredibly easy for users of social networking sites to remain anonymous or even pretend to be someone they are not. Online predators are able to pose as friends or other young children in order to gain private information. Children may want to meet up with friends they have only ever communicated with online, potentially placing themselves in harm's way. Many social networking sites also allow for geo-tagging as a default setting, allowing followers or the public to see the young person's location or whereabouts. This can be a frightening world, where any person with access to the internet can pretend to be someone they are not in order to gain the trust of vulnerable young people.

A rigorous national cyber-safety education program would ensure that children understand how to set privacy settings on social network sites, communicate with adults about their online activities and are able to recognise when situations may be dangerous or not quite right. Again, I congratulate the member for Forrest. It is essential that this government recognises that the detrimental effect of cyber-bullying would be best combatted by a co-ordinated national response. Thank you.

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