It is good to be here with you today to talk about this serious subject.
All of us appreciate the benefits the internet has brought us. Yet we are also aware that, within its transformative gift of connectivity, there are risks to our children.
The challenge we face is constantly evolving, and different countries are tackling it in different ways.
I want to talk about our way – and listen to the approaches being taken by others.
On the 10th of December, Australia will introduce social media age restrictions that go further than any country has before.
Not cutting access to publicly available content, but delaying the ability to set up social media accounts from the current age of 13, until the age of 16.
This is a sensible but overdue step to protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, giving them three more years to build real world connections and online resilience.
Three more years to get better at spotting the fakes and the dangers.
At learning the difference between online followers and real friends.
And at becoming more adept at avoiding the pressures of measuring themselves against impossible standards.
Three more years of being shaped by real life experience, not algorithms.
And developing the increased maturity and the perspective that will allow them to shrug off what, a couple of years earlier, might have felt overwhelming.
It’s the right thing to do by children, and it is the right thing to do by parents.
It isn’t foolproof, but it is a crucial step in the right direction.
As social media evolves, and as the tug-of-war between real life and endless scrolling grows ever more uneven, the load is not one that should be borne by kids and their parents alone.
With this law, we are saying: You don’t have to.
Australia is proudly bipartisan when it comes to online safety.
As we tackle menaces ranging from deepfake pornography to violent extremist material, we work together across the political spectrum.
Indeed, Australia’s independent online regulator – the eSafety Commissioner – was established by the previous Government, and supported by my party.
Success, of course, is always most assured when government, business and civil society work together.
I would like to acknowledge grassroots campaigns including 36 Months and News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids.
Through them, I have had the solemn privilege of spending time with parents who have felt the full, devastating impact that social media can have.
Some remain on the long journey with their children towards mental and physical healing.
Others, devastatingly, have lost a child to suicide.
I have listened to their stories of girls and boys with bright futures, only to be so overwhelmed by what got to them through their social media accounts, they saw no other way out.
It is an experience that affected me deeply.
In what world should a 14-year-old be exposed to sexual extortion?
It is a wilderness no child should know.
It is a burden no parent should have to bear.
And yet, amid their grief, these mums and dads have found the most profound way to express their love for their children.
They are working to give other young Australians the chance of a future safe from online harm.
Their courage is a powerful reminder of why our Government is determined to back them and keep young Australians safe online.
We want children to have a childhood.
To be off their phones and on the sporting field, or playing music, or hanging out with friends.
To live a life lit up not by the glow of a screen but by all the wonderful ingredients that go into making the human experience.
We want them engaging with each other on a face-to-face basis, because when the focus is on social interaction rather than social media, society benefits.
We know from experience that schools banning phones in the classroom has produced real and positive results – both academically and socially.
In contrast, we know social media is causing social harm for some of our kids.
There is a clear link between the rise of social media and the harm to the mental health of young people across the world.
We need to give kids more time to develop the maturity and the skills to navigate the online world safely.
What we are doing isn’t easy. But the burden that social media can place on our young people is often far harder.
On the 10th of December, we will begin to lighten their load.
We know the world will be watching – and we are glad to have you with us.
It is now my honour to introduce a true inspiration.
Someone who has found the courage to channel her grief into the most profound and powerful call for change.
Her story personifies why we are here.
Please welcome, Emma Mason.