eSafety boss says Roblox to escape under-16s ban but must do more to protect children from predators
The communications minister, Anika Wells, and eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, are talking to reporters in Parliament House this morning, following the addition of Reddit and Kick to the social media ban for under 16s.
But what about a platform such as Roblox, Inman Grant is asked, which has had serious concerns raised against it, including by the AFP commissioner Krissy Barrett who said platforms like it are being used by “sadistic men” to target young girls.
Inman Grant says eSafety deals with “sadistic sextortion and financial sexual extortion on a daily basis”, and that the list of banned platforms is fluid.
It’s of great concern to us. We’ve got codes and standards and we’ve used this in our negotiations with Roblox so based on that negotiation by the end of this year, Roblox will roll out age-assurance technologies here. Their primary user base are five-to-13-year-olds but it’s a commingled platform. They know there are adults. So we asked them to take other specific steps including not allowing adults to contact children without specific parental consent and putting on privacy at the highest default.
This is a dynamic list and … it will always change.
Key events
The long Senate question time looks to be over (for now)
The government is trying to end the extra question time questions in the Senate, and while it claims the government board appointments report is still before cabinet (so can’t be released yet), the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, says she’ll give the finance and public administration committee a briefing on the report “in camera” (ie in private).
The motion states that the Senate resolves the order for the production of a document into the jobs for mates report “has been satisfactorily complied with” and end those extra questions. Gallagher says:
I am hopeful that this offer of a briefing finds that interim step before we are in a position to release that document once cabinet has finished considering it we would expect that to be … before the end of this year.
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam, moves an amendment to Gallagher’s motion, which – if the government does not satisfactorily keep its promise of the briefing and providing that report by 31 December 2025 – would resume the extra questions and makes public service minister attend Senate every sitting morning to explain the failure to comply.
We want that document tabled and in order to ensure it is provided as the government has promised it would.
The Greens are not happy and are basically calling it a stitch-up between the major parties.
The senator who started it all, David Pocock tries to amend the hand-in date for that report to the Monday of the final sitting week, 24 November, to stop the government “burying it” and releasing it on Christmas Eve, and says he has serious concerns about the motion, and the amendment.
There’s a growing number of people concerned about what is promised by major parties in opposition and what is deliverd in government, and I think transparency is one of the issues that cuts to the core of it. Today’s motion, I think, is a concern.
Ted O’Brien is trying to make ‘Jimflation’ happen
Liberal deputy leader and shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien has been prosecuting Labor’s spending and accusing federal treasurer Jim Chalmers of going on a “spending spree” with the budget.
On Sky News earlier this morning, he said again that spending is leading to the higher inflation rate seen last week, which was followed by the Reserve Bank’s decision yesterday to keep interest rates on hold.
O’Brien’s also been trying to call it the “Jimflation” effect.
We’ve heard from the [RBA] governor yesterday, and she made it very clear that if you look even into next year, a headline inflation will peak around 3.7% now what’s the RBA aiming for? What do they want, 2.5%, it’s going to peak at 3.7% next year. This is the problem, it’s all about inflation, it’s all about Jim Chalmers, it’s all about the Jimflation effect.
O’Brien says the government needs to introduce quantifiable fiscal rules to limit budget spending and reduce reliance on personal income tax.
Word in the corridor has it the O’Brien team has even created “Jimflation” stickers.
Paterson says debate on stillborn bill should be ‘measured’ and ‘respectful’
Jumping back to James Paterson’s interview on RN Breakfast, the senator was also asked about the comments by conservative Liberal MPs linking a bill to enforce parental leave payments for parents of a stillborn baby with late-term abortions.
Paterson, who is a conservative, says his party supported the bill and while Andrew Hastie and others “raised questions” about the bill, they didn’t vote against it or move amendments.
He says people should be allowed to raise questions, but debate should conducted in a way that is “measured, that is calm, that is respectful, that understands the sensitivities that exist.”
Conscience issues relating to life and death are some of the most difficult issues that parliaments have to deal with. I think we want to live in a country where people can respectfully raise questions like that …
If you read Andrew Hastie’s speech, I think it is a measured, calm, and respectful speech. He asks a question about a potential unintended consequence of the bill, but he does so in a way that’s mindful of the genuine and heartfelt feelings that many people have.
Josh Butler
Liberals to decide on net zero and climate position in next fortnight
Sussan Ley says she will convene the Liberal party in the next fortnight to finally decide on a net zero and climate position, after weeks of uncertainty over their position and pressure from the Nationals and right-wing Liberals to dump the 2050 target.
Speaking on Channel Seven’s Sunrise this morning, Ley said:
The Liberal party room will meet sooner rather than later, certainly before Parliament resumes after this week and we will come to a position.
Parliament rises at the end of Thursday and will return on 24 November, meaning Ley has indicated a policy position within the next two weeks.
Ley said her party “will come to its own decision in our own party room exactly as I said we would”, and said she is “listening to my colleagues”.
Many Liberal MPs expect the final position to be a dumping or significant watering-down of the Coalition’s current net zero by 2050 commitment – but Ley would also likely face strong questioning and disappointment from moderate MPs, who supported her in the leadership ballot, if she were to cave in to the right-wing of her party.
Asked about whether the Coalition could stay together, Ley said:
Liberal and National parties are stronger together as a Coalition because we both equally want to fight this awful Labor government.
Paterson’s ‘very, very strong preference’ is for Coalition to remain
James Paterson, shadow finance minister and a senior member of the Liberals’ leadership group, says the Libs and the Nats should stay together.
Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast a little earlier, Paterson said the party should try to avoid the fate of 1987 when the Coalition last split. But, he says, that’s not to say the Coalition should stick together if under all circumstances.
It’s self-evidently a true statement that if the Liberal party and National party views are completely irreconcilable, then we couldn’t be in Coalition. But it is my very, very strong preference that we remain in Coalition because we cannot form a government without being in Coalition with the National party … When Liberal and National parties do not run in Coalition, the 1987 election is not widely remembered as a great success for either the Liberal or National parties, and we should all be determined to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
Asked about Sussan Ley’s leadership prospects, and her confidence that she’ll remain leader until the end of the year, Paterson says her confidence is warranted and he “strongly supports” her leadership.
Penry Buckley
Police charge twelve people after Sydney defence expo protest
Twelve people have been charged after an allegedly violent confrontation between New South Wales police and protesters outside a state government-sponsored defence conference in Sydney yesterday.
Police officers and protesters were allegedly injured after both claimed they were “set upon” at Palestine Action Group’s demonstration outside the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Darling Harbour, amid criticism that Israel’s largest weapons companies were attending the event.
In a statement, NSW police said they arrested 15 people during the protest, two of whom were later released without charge. A 33-year-old man has also been released without charge, pending further inquiries.
The 12 people charged include:
A 27-year-old man charged with refusing or failing to comply with direction and assaulting a police officer without actual bodily harm. He was refused bail to appear before court today.
A 26-year-old woman charged with four counts of assaulting police. She was refused bail to appear before court today.
A 26-year-old man charged with hindering or resisting a police officer and refusing or failing to comply with direction. He was granted conditional bail to appear before Downing centre local court on 3 December.
A 28-year-old man charged with assaulting a police officer without actual bodily harm. He was granted conditional bail to appear before court on 11 December.
Four people charged with refusing or failing to comply with direction, who were granted conditional bail before hearings in December.
Two men aged 23 and 34, and a 32-year-old woman were charged with hindering police and were granted conditional bail before hearings on 11 November.
A 33-year-old man was charged with using offensive language near a public place. He was granted conditional bail before a hearing on 11 December.
Ley digs in on argument that she’s never supported ‘net zero at any cost’
Sussan Ley is continuing her media rounds this morning, speaking to ABC News Breakfast, defending the separate policy processes between the Liberals and Nationals.
The Liberal leader digs in on her argument that she’s never supported “net zero at any cost” when asked whether she’s prepared to dump the target to save her leadership.
There are a lot of different opinions in our party room. I said I wouldn’t make captains calls. I’m doing exactly what I said I would do. And actually, the process has been good. Can I tell you? It’s allowed us to come together, it’s allowed us to talk not just to each other, but to industry and experts.
Host, James Glenday, retorts saying Coalition members have also been talking to journalists about how split the parties are.
Ley says “that’s ok”.
Colleagues are talking about their passionate views on this subject, as they should, and if they talk to journalists, that’s okay, because they’re expressing their passionately held views. Now, journalists can draw the conclusions they want about the things that you’ve described, but it is really important that we do get this right.
‘More room for movement’ ahead of social media ban
The government has announced two new platforms being added to the social media ban for under-16s including Reddit and Kick.
But there are other platforms, like Roblox, which has previously sparked concerns over children on the platform accessing inappropriate content – that have not been included in the ban.
On ABC News Breakfast, communications minister Anika Wells says the legislation is not “set and forget” and more platforms could be added to the ban ahead of the start date.
With respect to the list, I know, for example, Twitch is still currently being assessed by the Safety Commissioner, so there will still be room for movement as we move into 10 December.
Ley says commentary linking stillborn bill to late-term abortions ‘insensitive’
You might remember last week when conservatives including Andrew Hastie, Barnaby Joyce, Henry Pike and Tony Pasin argued in the federation chamber that Priya’s bill – which gives parents who have experienced stillbirth, entitlement to their parental leave payments – could be used by women who have had a late term abortion.
Medical experts have been highly critical of the arguments, and accused the MPs of “playing politics”.
Ley took a swipe at the MPs and said the bill – which passed with bipartisan support – is “really important” and that women who have lost a baby through tragic events should be supported.
Losing a baby is one of the most difficult things that can ever happen to a mother and to a family. And as a mother and a grandmother, this is very personal. Any commentary about this bill applying in other contexts is insensitive.
‘I’m completely confident’, Ley says
Sabra Lane asks Sussan Ley how confident she is that she’ll still be leader when parliament rises for the year.
Rumours are running wild around parliament house, with senior conservatives pushing for net zero to be dumped, and senior moderates putting pressure on Ley to keep climate targets. And let’s not forget Andrew Hastie quit the frontbench last month (saying it wasn’t to make a leadership challenge, but it is a step in any future attempt).
Ley seems unfazed by the commentary:
I’m completely confident and I have a smile on my face as I answer this because I know that the media and commentary does get a little bit excited from time to time.
Sussan Ley says Liberals will reach a position on net zero ‘soon’
Sussan Ley, under pressure from within her own party, and the Nationals, says the Liberals will reach a position on net zero “soon”.
Speaking to ABC AM, Ley says she’s not “commenting on the commentary”. Host Sabra Lane points to Tim Wilson’s language yesterday that the Liberal party is “not the National party lite”, and Andrew Bragg’s comments that Australia can’t be a “pariah state” and drop out of the Paris agreement.
You’re asking me to comment on commentary with respect. And as leader, I said there wouldn’t be any captains’ calls and I’d listen to my team, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Asked if she personally believes in net zero by 2050, Ley says she’s “always said we cannot have net zero at any cost”.
Housing minister says 5% home deposit scheme not contributing to property price growth
The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is defending the government’s 5% home deposit scheme, and has said it’s not a main driver of the latest rise in house prices.
Sparring with Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie this morning, O’Neil says house price growth has been a problem for 40 years and “we ultimately have to build more homes quickly”.
I’ll release some numbers soon which show the government’s changes to the 5% deposit program are not the primary driver of what’s going on in home building … I think it’s not accurate to blame this on a policy that started four weeks ago.
McKenzie says the deposit scheme will mean “first time buyers are saddled with more debt”, and also throws some blame to immigration levels (while the Liberals have tried to somewhat tone down their language around immigration – they’re still drawing a link between immigration rates and increasing house prices).
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
It’s going to be another busy sitting day, so let’s get straight into it!
Ben Doherty
Asio chief speaks about China
Mike Burgess also made some more off-the-cuff remarks about China in his appearance at the Lowy.
Asked about a reported visit to Beijing in 2023 (Burgess would not confirm or deny the trip), Burgess said he spoke regularly with intelligence agencies from hostile countries. Asio has relationships with more than 351 civilian and military intelligence agencies in 124 countries, he said.
He said of China:
I did not mention China … but how do you know I wasn’t talking about things China did in my remarks?
We all spy on each other. But we don’t conduct wholesale intellectual property theft, we don’t interfere in political systems, and we don’t undertake high-harm activity.
Asio chief warns ‘at least’ three countries willing to kill on Australian soil
Ben Doherty
The Asio chief, Mike Burgess, gave a speech at the Lowy Institute last night in which he warned that there were “at least” three countries whose governments were prepared to carry out political assassinations in Australia.
We have the full story here, but Burgess elaborated on his remarks in conversation with Lowy Institute director Michael Fullilove after he had made the speech.
The Asio chief agreed his warning carried an “alarming message” but added that Australians needed to be told. He said:
I think it’s incredibly important Australians understand we now live in a world where that is possible… Australia is a long way from everywhere, but not from the threat.
Questioned on his remarks that there were “at least three countries … willing and capable” of conducting assassinations, Burgess said:
The countries I didn’t mention by name, know who I’m talking about … by mentioning them publicly, I’m also putting them on notice that we know some of them are prepared to do this. And we will do our damndest to stop them before it happens.
Albanese government ‘addicted to secrecy’ after Nauru deportations, Greens senator says
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens senator, David Shoebridge, has accused the Albanese government of being “addicted to secrecy” after Guardian Australia learned of at least two other men being quietly deported to Nauru last week.
One of the men was a Sudanese national who sources said was detained within Yongah Hill immigration centre, near Perth, while the other was chartered from another centre within the country.
When the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, was asked about the deportation yesterday, he said: “If people have had their visas cancelled, we expect them to leave.”
Shoebridge, who is the minor party’s immigration spokesperson, said the government had put up a “wall of secrecy” over the deportations.
Forcibly removing people to a country they have never been to, with no connection to, with no oversight and in complete secrecy is not how any democracy should be behaving …
A government that thinks it is okay to do this is one that has lost its moral compass.
While the Albanese government has put up a wall of secrecy, we are relying on breadcrumbs of information that fall from the Nauru government and civil society.
$2bn in public wealth is being poured into this cruel policy, and minister Burke seems hellbent on making sure no one can question him or get the most basic information on what’s occurring.
Reports that one of the people sent to Nauru is from Sudan is especially frightening, when we know the Nauruan president has said the end goal is to send people back to the countries they have fled.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the best overnight stories before Krishani Dhanji takes the controls.
Asio chief Mike Burgess gave a speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney last night in which he said there were “at least” three countries whose governments were prepared to carry out assassinations on Australian soil. Asked whether it was too alarming, Burgess said that it was “incredibly important” for Australians to understand the dangers the country faced.
The Greens have accused the Albanese government of being “addicted to secrecy” after Guardian Australia learned that at least two more men were deported to Nauru last week without any public statement. Greens senator David Shoebridge said forcibly removing people from Australia under complete secrecy is not how a democracy should behave.
