| ### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ### |
| ### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ### |
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Late into the night on Nov. 28, the Australian Senate passed a "world first" law that bans under 16-year-old children from accessing social media.
The new law, once in effect, means young Australians will be barred from accessing platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and X—age verification technology will be implemented by the Big Tech firms to ensure compliance.
Certain social media programs will be allowed, including YouTube and educational apps.
The centre-left Labor government achieved passage of the Bill with support from the centre-right Liberal-National Coalition amid a blitz of Bills on the last sitting day of Parliament in 2024.
"I think parents need help with this, and this is why I think there is a case for government intervention," he said.
"Partly because parents have to grapple with the ubiquity of phones and electronic devices, and the crude measure that some suggest—which is take away your kid's phone, or give them a non-smartphone without adding any apps—I don't think is particularly realistic," Sharma said.
"I think in today's era we expect our children to be able to be contacted and be contactable, and this is especially true in situations in many households today where both parents are working, and they are often not home when the children might be home or coming home from school."
Sharma added he did not discount that there were some benefits to children using social media, providing a way for them to stay in touch and stay connected.
"We all saw this during the COVID pandemic, when our children weren't going to school and they stayed in touch through messaging platforms, through social media platforms, and it allows them to build and maintain a social circle," he said.
"I also appreciate that the people who are isolated geographically or socially or otherwise, it provides them a way to build a community which might not be available to them in the real world.
"It's a bill to appease [media mogul] Rupert Murdoch," he claimed.
Shoebridge also described the short Senate inquiry into the legislation as a "sham" and said the evidence against a social media ban was "overwhelming."
Labor Minister Jenny McAllister noted the law would not come into force for a year, emphasising that keeping "Australians safe online" was a top priority of the government.
Social media platforms will also need to roll out technology to verify the minimum age of users.
"The Bill does not dictate how platforms must comply with the minimum age obligation," the explanatory memorandum states."However, it is expected that at a minimum, the obligation will require platforms to implement some form of age assurance as a means of identifying whether a prospective or existing account holder is an Australian child under the age of 16 years."
"By design, the Bill ignores the realities of the wider technology ecosystem and goes as far as to exclude entire industries and parts of society, including parents and caregivers, all of whom should be motivated and supported to work together to keep young Australians safe online."
Billionaire Elon Musk also weighed into the debate on the social media ban personally on Nov. 21, responding to a post from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touting the ban.
Catholic school parents in Western Australia also argued that social media could impact children's behaviour.
"Parents are worried that children and young people are becoming desensitised to some of the content that they are seeing, and that it is leading to a distorted understanding of some serious topics," the advocacy group told the inquiry.
| ### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ### |
The last government spent £50m on Rwanda deportation flights that never took off, new figures reveal.
This included the cost of securing the flights, escorts to force migrants onto the planes and preparing and securing the airfields, Home Office documents show.
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Spending on the asylum scheme overall reached £715m before it was scrapped by Labour after the general election in July.
Other costs outlined include £290m paid to Rwanda's government, £95m on detention and reception centres and £280m on IT, staffing and legal fees.
The figures were published as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper gave a statement on migration in the House of Commons.
She said 84,000 people made small boat journeys from the day the Rwanda deal was signed to the day it was axed.
"This so-called deterrent did not result in a single deportation or stop a single boat crossing the Channel," she said.
"For the British taxpayer, it was a grotesque waste of money."
Initially launched by Boris Johnson in April 2022, the Rwanda plan was designed to deport migrants who had come to the UK after crossing the English Channel in a small boat to the landlocked east African country.
Its purpose was to deter further crossings in small boats, but its opponents claimed there was a lack of evidence it would have this effect.
By the time of the general election, and two prime ministers later, the scheme was not operational after facing several legal challenges.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scrapped it almost immediately upon taking office, saying the money would be diverted into a new Border Security Command aimed at smashing criminal people-smuggling gangs.
More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since his election win, figures published on Sunday show.
The total for the year is now 33,684, with more crossings since the five months Labour have been in power than the first six months of 2024 when the Conservatives were in government.
However, Labour sources said the 13,574 crossings from January to July were "unprecedented" for that time of year and were a 19% increase on the same period in 2023, 5% higher than 2022 and more than double 2021.
They added that weather played a "significant part" in the high number over the summer.
In her Commons statement, Ms Cooper pledged to "restore order" to the migration system, saying a recent "landmark deal" struck with Iraq will help stem the number of illegal migrants coming to the UK.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said an "effective deterrent for illegal migration" - such as the Rwanda plan - are among the ideas her party are considering as they set out a "new approach" on migration.
| ### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ### |
| ### "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence", George Washington. ### |
