STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator BABET (Victoria—United Australia Party Whip) (13:48): The Albanese government's social media ban is failing, exactly as critics predicted it would. University of Newcastle researchers found that 85 per cent of under-16s are still using social media, despite this ban being in place. It makes you wonder when the Albanese government will realise that passing legislation is not the same as solving a problem.

What is Labor's response to this faceplant? Do they admit that this law is a dud? Of course not.

Do they scrap the law? No, they don't. Instead, they reach for the oldest trick in the book—more power.

They want to give the eSafety Commissioner greater information-gathering powers while doubling the maximum fines to an eye-watering $99 million—typical! This government never knew a failure it couldn't turn into an even greater failure while collecting more of other people's money and accumulating more power—more personal info collected, less privacy, more databases filled with sensitive information, and more opportunities for hackers, leaks and identity theft.

But the kids will still be on social media, and the rest of us are going to be under greater surveillance. Was this law really ever about protecting kids, or was it just an opportunity to collect more data from the Australian people? Real online safety—and I think most of us should probably know this—has never come from Canberra; it comes from parents.

That's why I introduced my Social Media Minimum Age Repeal Bill 2025. Instead of doubling down on a failed experiment, this government could just admit that they were wrong. They could repeal this unworkable law, restore Australians' privacy and trust parents to do what the governments can't, which is raise their own kids free from interference.