Online Safety and Other Legislation Amendment (My Face, My Rights) Bill 2025

Senator WHITEAKER (Western Australia) (10:01): On this side of the chamber, we certainly agree that the online space has been unregulated for too long, and it's put people, particularly young people and women, at risk for far too long. That's why we have taken strong and decisive action since coming to government to put the onus on platforms to do better in this space.

The Prime Minister and Minister Wells have put these tech companies and platforms on notice and said: 'We will no longer accept them shirking their responsibility. If they want to operate in Australia, they should do so while taking responsibility for protecting Australians and, in particular, protecting young Australians.' Last year, of course, we delayed access to social media until the age of 16 because we want kids to know who they are before platforms make those assumptions for them.

We want to keep kids safe online. The digital space really was the Wild West for far too long. So I think our world-leading social media ban—which has now, I note, been adopted by a number of countries around the world—is a really important step in the right direction, towards putting that onus back on the tech companies.

We've also quadrupled the eSafety Commission's base funding to ensure that they can enforce the law, help Australians who face serious abuse online and educate Australians about the risks that exist online. We also brought forward the independent statutory review of the Online Safety Act 2021 to ensure the act remains fit for purpose. One of the really important recommendations of that review is to legislate a digital duty of care, and that is something that our government has said that we will legislate very, very soon.

Why is a digital duty of care important? Because we believe that the onus should be on the platforms, not on users, and that online platforms and big tech companies have the technology and the resources to do this work. They should reduce, manage and remove harmful content.

They should stop it before it ends up in people's feeds, and they need to do better in this space. Our government expects them to do better in this space. So Labor will ensure, through our digital duty of care laws, that we will force platforms to take stronger action to keep Australians safe.

Our work in online safety is world leading. Under the current Online Safety Act, the existing Image-Based Abuse Scheme already allows the eSafety Commissioner to take action against the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, whether AI is used or not. Further to that, under the current Unlawful Material Codes and Standards, digital service providers are already required to take proactive steps to prevent the generation and distribution of class 1 material, including child sexual abuse material and pro-terror material, and, again, that includes material that is generated by AI.

The government has ensured that the eSafety Commissioner is well resourced to assist Australians who face serious abuse online, to educate Australians about online risks and to hold online service providers to account. But there is more work to do. We know that, and we are committed to doing that work through our digital duty of care.

The other thing I think is really important to call out and talk about is the responsibility that we have as leaders, as elected members of this place, to think about the kinds of things that we do online. In recent months, I have been absolutely disgusted by some of what I have seen posted online by One Nation. I know that we've got Senator Walker here in the chamber.

I asked her whether she would be happy with me talking about this in here, and she very generously said that I can. I think it's really important that we do. Some of the content that Senator Hanson and her colleagues in One Nation have posted about Senator Walker online is absolutely disgraceful.

Not only is it disrespectful to Senator Walker—who I've come to know very well over the last 12 months and I know is extremely tough, one of the toughest people in this place, who doesn't blink an eyelid and who continues to come in here and stand up for young people—it is extremely disrespectful to other young people who shouldn't feel discouraged from being a part of the political conversation, from putting themselves forward, whether it's on the Labor ticket or the Liberal ticket or the Greens ticket or as an Independent.

Young people should feel like they belong in this place. I want more young people like Senator Walker in this chamber—not fewer. Senator Hanson and her colleagues need to do better.

I don't know why Senator Hanson is so afraid of Senator Walker. I think it says a lot that she's afraid of what Senator Walker will do in this place now and for the next five years, and I'm sure for many, many years to come after that, because it's clear to me that she is afraid of Senator Walker and what she can do. But that is not an excuse to post content online that sends a message to young people that says, 'You don't belong here,' 'You don't belong in the places where decisions are made,' and 'You don't belong at the table when important conversations are happening.' We know in the Labor caucus just how important it is to have a diverse range of people elected to this place as part of the conversation.

It is completely unacceptable that Senator Hanson and her colleagues think that it is okay to post that kind of shameful political content. I've made my fair share of political ads over my time as a party official. And you know what?

We all sometimes like to have a bit of fun. I think that's an important part of engaging people in the political conversation. But there is a line that we, as elected members to this place, with the responsibility of representing Australians, should be held to.

So I say to Senator Hanson and to her colleagues in One Nation that that behaviour is absolutely disgusting and disgraceful. Senator Walker can take it. She's tough.

I know she can take it. But I don't want other young people to feel discouraged from being part of the political conversation. That is why I say in this place that it is absolutely unacceptable, and we will continue to call Senator Hanson and her colleagues out for doing that kind of absolutely disgraceful online content.

I believe we may have met the hard—no? Oh, I've got a bit more time. Okay, excellent.

So I think the intention of the Online Safety and Other Legislation Amendment (My Face, My Rights) Bill 2025 is good, and I think broadly we agree on the— The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Whiteaker. You've now met the hard marker. Debate interrupted.