Rex Patrick (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

  (i) warnings from experts that smartphones are diluting students' focus in the classroom and curbing students' social skills,

  (ii) smartphones can be used by students in order to engage in cyberbullying,

  (iii) that, since the Office of the eSafety Commissioner was established in July 2015, it has resolved approximately 670 complaints in relation to cyberbullying,

  (iv) complaints to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, in relation to cyberbullying, increased by 63 per cent between 2015-16 and 2016-17, and

  (v) that, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner reports that, in the 12 months to June 2016, 8 per cent of children and 19 per cent of teenagers were cyberbullied; and

(b) calls on state and territory education ministers, in consultation with the Federal Government, to develop clear guidelines to prevent inappropriate use of smartphones in classrooms.