QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Ms WELLS (Lilley—Minister for Sport and Minister for Communications) (14:07): I thank the member for Moreton for her question, for her support and for her advocacy on behalf of all of the young people that she represents on the south side of Brisbane. Mr Speaker, the principle of a duty of care is simple. If you create a product for people to use or a space where people work, learn, play or relax, you must take reasonable steps to make it safe.
Should a toy maker check for choking hazards? Of course. Should a car maker test the brakes?
Of course. Do you expect a school to keep its students safe? Of course.
So, the question for parliament is, if we agree on these basic legal obligations, shouldn't we expect the same of big tech? That is exactly what the digital duty of care will do. It will set basic safety standards for the online services we use every day, just like we have in every other industry.
Talk to any parent, any teacher, any child or any teenager: the status quo is not enough. I received a letter from an 8-year-old boy named Angus who lives in Yeronga in the member for Moreton's electorate. Angus wrote to me because he was worried about what Roblox was doing to friends and what it might do to his little brother.
He said: 'I have a friend who used to be a great friend who would play with me on play dates, and we would have a great time. He got Roblox when he was about six years old, and, after he got Roblox, he wasn't interested in playing with me anymore. All he wanted to do was play Roblox, and it feels like he's addicted to it.
My friends say weird things that they have learnt from the game, and I don't like it. It isn't safe that it is an online game and strangers can play with you, and I worry about my friends being online with strangers who might be dangerous. There are horror games on Roblox and it can be really scary for kids.
When I've asked my friends to stop playing these games, they don't listen. I think that Roblox rots kids' brains because it has terrible graphics. There are horror and shooting games, and they learn very silly things.' If an eight-year-old Angus from Yeronga understands why we need to make the internet safer, surely a 60-year-old Angus from Cooma might be able to understand that, too.
There's no reason why we can't work together to deliver a digital duty of care. All sides of parliament need to work together to get this done.