Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her very good question and the great work that she does for the people of her home state, which includes keeping children safe online. It is a challenge, but it is one that the Albanese Labor government makes no apologies for taking on. Delaying access to social media until the age of 16 will protect Australian children at a critical stage of their development. That gives them three more years on which to build real-world connections, three more years for them to learn who they are before the platforms assume who they are. We have all heard the horrible tragedies that have befallen families throughout Australia. Social media targets children with deadly precision, and it's families that are left to suffer. This government will not stand idly by. We want kids to be kids, and these laws will help them have a childhood.

The Liberals and the Nationals are only focused on themselves and undermining these laws before they even begin on 10 December. We, on the other hand, are on the side of parents not platforms. That's where our focus is. There is a place for social media, but there's no place for predatory algorithms causing children harm. Social media has a social responsibility, and this government will continue to hold them to account.