Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting for Fisheries and Forestry) | Hansard source

I feel a little like an imposter talking on this bill. Many of my colleagues who know me know that I'm probably best described as a Luddite. Even as a Luddite, in this role one has to be across the role of online presences. In fact, I am wanted, recently, to describe myself to colleagues, members of the party and constituents otherwise as a 'content creator'. I've got to tell you, Mr Deputy Speaker, when I entered the parliament in 2013, if someone told me it was a condition of this role that I would have to become a digital content creator, I would have stayed in the law and transitioned to the farm. I wouldn't have sought preselection. I wouldn't have worked very hard to obtain that preselection and then worked very hard during the election of 2013 and subsequent elections since then. But the truth is that, in the modern age, if you want to share and communicate with your constituency, or if you're in business and you want to share and communicate with customers, if you're not on a digital platform then you're missing out. And young people have gained aptitude towards digital acumen faster than any other cohort in the country. I've got a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old, and their acumen around digital platforms and these things is just a sight to behold.

I'm not one of those people who come in here and say that everything about online experiences is wrong. I don't conform to that view. Like everything, there need to be appropriate safeguards; there need to be appropriate barriers. That is what we're seeking to achieve here, and I of course support my colleague the member for Lindsay's amendment. But it is important that we understand that, as positive as experiences can be in the digital online environment, there are also substantial risks. Like others, I've read of very tragic circumstances. I've had constituents, parents, come to me concerned about the way algorithms are seeking to lock young people in. In fact, I myself am someone who has to check how long I spend online and how connected I can become to my devices. It's why perhaps I love time on the farm—because you just put the phone away, you get on with life and then you reconnect at some other point.

So this is an important space. It's one where we need to get the balance right. I commend to the House my colleague the member for Lindsay's amendment.

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