MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE

Senator DUNIAM (Tasmania—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (16:42): I commend Senator Payman for bringing forward this matter of public importance. I think it is very much something that fits that title. All Australians, young and old, of any background and of any gender, should definitely be able to feel safe in our community, not just on the streets or in their home or workplace but online as well.

To that end, I think it is very much a matter worthy of consideration. I'm pleased Senator Payman has brought forward this MPI which she has just outlined. It relates to the need for the definition of cyberabuse material targeted at an Australian adult under the Online Safety Act 2021 to be amended to lower the threshold of behaviour to be considered adult cyberabuse in line with recommendation 18 of the statutory review of that act.

That recommendation didn't come out of the ether. It is one that is informed. It's one that's off the back of research.

It's one that was developed off the back of many people offering their lived experience relating to this very matter. I would suggest that here in 2025 it is ridiculous for us not to express the concern that we all should around the digital world evolving the way that it is. It is changing at a pace we cannot keep up with.

There is a proliferation of platforms and media available online, all of this giving rise to more and more opportunities for insidious and harmful conduct to be perpetrated on others in a way that I think Senator Payman has quite well described. There are so many realities around life online that we didn't have to countenance just five or 10 years ago. Indeed, five years from now, the world will again be a very different place with the emerging prevalence of AI, which will take things to a new level altogether as people's capacity to do some of the things that Senator Payman has spoken about and to cause harm to individuals becomes even more of a concern and something that is so much more easily perpetrated.

Again, the pace and speed of the rollout of new technologies enabling these individuals who think it's somehow okay to behave in this way are reasons for us as a parliament to consider what we do here. The point made around the fact that, once something exists in the digital realm, it is very hard, if not impossible, to delete it is absolutely right. Expunging detail, whether it be an image or written information, from the internet is, as was stated, near on impossible.

If it is deepfake pornographic material or even material in a written form alluding to an element of a person's personal background or some sort of salacious rumour, damage is done instantaneously. As soon as that material is broadcast, it is harm done. How do you unwind that?

And then, even after the harm is done, how do you remove that? And so, to that end, those powers available to authorities and enforcement agencies are important. Something that is difficult to countenance but is very much a factor when it comes to dealing with this digital world and the world in which this harm is perpetrated is the anonymity that gives power to these individuals that do these things.

Would they do them in the street to someone in broad daylight? Probably not. That does suggest that perhaps there is a shred of human decency there.

But, when they are behind the keyboard, locked away in a room in their mother's basement or goodness knows where, they do these things without regard for the individual that they may be perpetrating this harm unto. And so we do need to consider, as Senator Payman has said, whether the threshold is lowered in the way that has been outlined in the matter of public importance.

We also need to consider how resources are deployed within government enforcement agencies—agencies that are able to target and deal with some of the issues that have been talked about here. We need platforms to step up. I know there are legitimate and, of course, illegitimate fora on the internet, but, for those legitimate ones that are governed by the laws of this country, we need to ensure the laws are adequate, enforcement is appropriate and platforms do their bit, and we need to equip families as well to educate and to protect our young.

This sort of behaviour doesn't happen overnight when someone's an adult. This kind of thing proliferates, sadly, in people's earlier years. And so I say there is a role for families here, but I commend again Senator Payman for bringing this MPI forward, and I believe it is worthy of much consideration.