Media Release
Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Safer Internet Day 2008
Today is Safer Internet Day and Australia will join some 50 countries around the world in activities designed to raise awareness of the safety of children in the online environment, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said today.
“The internet has much to offer our children but we also need to ensure that they have sufficient knowledge to enjoy a positive online experience,” Senator Conroy said.
“Initiatives such as Safer Internet Day provide an important focus for our efforts to educate our children in safe online behaviour as they use the web to exchange information and for entertainment, school work, research and social networking.
“I welcome the initiatives from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to use Safer Internet Day to help children across Australia to gain a broader understanding of the impact of their behaviours in the online environment.”
Senator Conroy said the Government's plan to provide online safety, especially for children, has a number of elements.
“These include education programs for parents and teachers as well as children. We will establish a youth advisory group which will report to an expanded Consultative Working Group on cyber-safety issues. We will undertake further Australian research into the changing digital landscape, provide greater resourcing for policing illegal content and introduce ISP level filtering to deliver a ‘clean feed' to homes, schools and public internet points,” said Senator Conroy.
“The Government is undertaking a number of activities to inform the development of the implementation framework for ISP filtering. ACMA's ‘blacklist' of websites will be made more comprehensive to ensure children are protected from harmful and inappropriate online material. “The Government is committed to working closely with industry to address any concerns over costs and internet speeds.”
Activities organised by ACMA for Safer Internet Day include a worldwide ‘blogathon' which Australian children will participate in. Cybersmart Detectives, a cyber-safety role play game will be run in Western Australia whilst ACMA staff are also participating in an online forum at ‘Habbo Hotel' (a virtual community for teenagers) to discuss safety questions.
12 February 2008
Contact: Belinda Dennett
PH: 02 62777480
