Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

except this bloke here. One thing I get really sick of is when members of this place say, 'On this side, we take child safety seriously.' There's nothing that gets my goat more than that. I just wanted to share that with you, Deputy Speaker. So pull your head in, son. We're talking about the safety of kids. Wipe the smirk off your face.

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO and executive chairman of Google, described the internet as 'the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had', while Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has urged society to remember that we are still in the beginnings of the internet and that we need to use it wisely.

There's no doubt that the internet has been a boon for many but a curse for some. And there can be no doubt that there are some in society who use the internet as a tool to inflict embarrassment and to cause pain and suffering. One in five young Australians has been bullied, socially excluded, threatened or abused online. Unfortunately, it is common for our young Australians not to tell an adult about cyberbullying. As the honourable member's motion points out, research undertaken by the eSafety Commissioner shows that 25 per cent of young people have been contacted by strangers or someone they didn't know; 13 per cent of young people reported receiving repeated unwanted online messages from someone; and 13 per cent of young people reported having lies or rumours spread about them. This is why it's important to acknowledge the work of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, as the honourable member has done in his excellent motion.

I want to reaffirm the bipartisan support that the office has. They support a number of safety programs and online resources to help Australians combat online abuse. I won't repeat some of the statistics that we've heard, because they've already been provided to the House. But I'd like to place on the record my thanks to the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant, and her team for the important work that they do. I'd also like to acknowledge some Territorians—the work done by Kate and Tick Everett and their NGO, Dolly's Dream. Dolly's Dream was set up by Kate and Tick in memory of their daughter Amy 'Dolly' Everett, who took her own life at the age of 14 after an extended period of bullying and cyberbullying. Dolly left behind her parents, Tick and Kate, and her sister, Meg, who are now focused on preventing other families going through the same devastating experience. Dolly's Dream is helping deliver the rollout of eSmart Schools in Queensland and the Northern Territory, a tool which will reduce school bullying. For their efforts, Kate and Tick, deservedly, received the 2019 Australian of the Year award in the Local Heroes category.

The internet and social media offer a forum for human interaction which, in the main, is positive. A case in point is the bushfires, where social media connected people and raised funds. But we all know that sometimes human interactions go wrong, offline or online. When that happens, the internet and social media, in particular, can be a lightning rod for toxic and bullying behaviours, making it a dangerous place for vulnerable people and, very often, our younger Australians. We can all do more to make the internet a safer place. But sometimes, because of the volume of the toxicity that we find online, we can become complacent with how we deal with cyberbullying and online abuse. We need to remember that online abuse is never okay and that those perpetrating it should not go unpunished. If you see something abusive or something that you believe is unacceptable, jump online and report it. I note that tomorrow is Safer Internet Day and this year's theme is 'Together for a better internet'. So let's remember that we all have kids and we're all on the same side—and that's against the perpetrators and for our kids.

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