QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator FARRELL (South Australia—Minister for Trade and Tourism, Special Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:26): Can I issue my welcome to Ambassador Suzuki and his colleagues who have just left the room. I thank Senator Ghosh for his question and the great work that he does on behalf of the people of Western Australia in this parliament.

Australia is proud to be leading the world when it comes to protecting children online. More than 20 countries are taking Australia's lead and looking at putting in place similar laws to ensure young children are protected online from the harms of social media. The Albanese government will always prioritise keeping Aussie kids safe, and we've had the backs of Australian families through our social media minimum-age law.

These laws can evolve and change as technology changes. We need to be agile and vigilant to protect our kids and deliver for the Australian parents who have led this global movement. That's why we introduced laws in parliament in June to ensure an independent regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, has the tools that she needs to help keep kids safe online.

These laws will strengthen the investigative powers of the eSafety Commissioner and will double the fines for noncompliance to more than $109 million. The eSafety Commissioner will also be able to ask for more information from social media companies and, critically, from the age-verification companies and other parties. The Albanese Labor government is leading the world in its effort to protect young children online and will continue working to do that.

The PRESIDENT: Senator Ghosh, first supplementary?