QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Sport and Minister for Communications) (14:24): I thank the member for Calwell for his question and for his advocacy for young people in Broadmeadows, Meadow Heights and Greenvale. We want to protect and improve the lives and wellbeing of young people, and the social media ban is just the starting point. It's not a ban on our kids; it's a ban on what is being done to them.

So far, more than five million underage accounts have been deactivated, removed or restricted. A YouGov survey found that 30 per cent of young Australians aged between 13 to 15 are spending more time playing sport, 27 per cent report better sleep, and online bullying is down nine per cent. Exposure to inappropriate and violent content has fallen by 18 per cent.

Despite this worthy progress, I think every Australian could agree that the social media platforms are not doing enough to comply with Australia's laws. Under-16s should not be able to keep scanning their face until they crack the age-verification test. Under-16s should not be able to immediately open another account once they get locked out.

Parents should be able to report under-age use without being asked to sign a legal letter. These are just a few examples of the kinds of tactics that social media platforms are using in defiance of Australia's laws, and that is exactly why the parliament needs to be as agile and responsive as these tech companies about the harms we are trying to protect our kids from.

So, to hold these platforms to account, on 1 July the Albanese government introduced an urgent new bill to strengthen eSafety's investigative powers and double the penalties for noncompliance. It was a straightforward, four-page bill that the coalition and Greens political party sent off for a two-month Senate inquiry, which came back recommending that we pass the bill—a bill that Australian parents implored parliament not to treat as a political football.

Mia Bannister, a mother from my electorate on the north side of Brisbane who lost her son, Ollie, travelled all the way to Canberra to show her support for this bill in person. She pleaded with the coalition and Greens senators: 'Give the regulator the powers it needs, close the loopholes, enforce the law. Hold the platforms accountable because our children have waited long enough.' Now, the best time to listen to Australian parents and pass the bill would have been two months ago, but the second best time is this week.

The coalition and the Greens political party must now put politics aside, put parents before platforms and pass this urgent bill by the end of this week.