Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Protecting the safety of Australians online, particularly of women and children, is a priority of this government. It's critically important for communities across Australia, including families in my Central Coast community of Robertson.

Will the Prime Minister inform the House of the strong and decisive action the Morrison government is taking—

to protect Australians from harmful online behaviour and unmask the trolls who are behind it?

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the Prime Minister gets the call, I call upon members on my left. It's highly disorderly.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. As a former telecommunications executive before she came to this place, the member for Robertson understands why it's so important for Australia to be a leading digital economy. Our digital economy strategy will be achieving the goal of being a leading digital economy in the world, creating jobs, investment and economic opportunities for Australia into the future. That has been backed in by the fact that Google has invested a billion dollars in Australia to ensure and back in the digital strategy that we have.

There are great advantages and great opportunities, but I know, as you in particular know, Mr Speaker, that there are great threats and great dangers in the online world, which the member for Robertson knows about as a parent, and as a woman has had to put up with abuse online. She speaks with some authority on this matter.

That's why I was very pleased today to invite the member for Robertson to lead a select committee looking not only into the exposure draft legislation which we have released today in relation to the online world and ensuring that digital companies, big tech companies, are held accountable for what they publish and that we unmask the trolls but also, more broadly, at ensuring that we are keeping up to speed as we have been as a world leader in regulating in the online space so the rules in the physical world are the same as the rules in the digital world to keep Australians safe.

In a recent survey of the top 5 negative experiences of Australian teenagers, they listed a negative online experience. Thirty per cent of women are disproportionately targeted for abuse online. Antitrolling legislation, which we will introduce in this parliament—and I'm happy to table the exposure draft of that legislation—will add to the online privacy act and the many other measures that our government has taken to ensure that we keep Australians safe, particularly women and particularly our kids. We speak about many issues in this place, but I know, as a parent, as a member of parliament and as a Prime Minister, that this is an issue that is discussed in homes, clubs and communities all around the country.

We want to bring those conversations here that Australians and Australian families are having. Through the inquiry that will be led by the member for Robertson, we want to hear what they're doing to help their communities and help their kids to be able to be protected and safe online. This is an incredibly important issue for the future of our country. Social media is tearing at the very fabric of our society, and we need to protect our kids. (Time expired)