Bills

Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Communication with Children) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Debate resumed.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (12:28): I rise to support this bill and motion to the house, which targets the appalling and unacceptable behaviours of predators who misrepresent their age online and criminalises planning to harm a child. It gives police the power to act before a predator has the chance to harm children.

I would like to acknowledge the brave Sonya Ryan, who has been an incredible advocate for change since the tragic murder of her daughter, Carly. I thank you for creating an awareness of the need for these protections and, indeed, for your parent education sessions. Like my colleague the member for Heysen, I was also proud to be in the chamber when this bill was introduced in May by our new government. I thank the member for Heysen for moving the motion today. I also thank each of my colleagues on both sides of the chamber for rising to support this legislation today.

To actually get this legislation passed to protect children is a huge and real step in protecting our innocent, vulnerable, beautiful kids who are just trying to play and connect in the online space with the mobile and future technologies that we have available. Our young people should be able to interact online without having to worry about being taken advantage of or hurt, or worse, by a criminal trying to infiltrate their lives. As technology has permeated our lives and those of our children, an insidious reality has arisen. Strangers can now chat online to our children right under our noses.

While there are so many great educational and fun apps out there, a lot of them also have chat functions that can open up the virtual door to predators engaging with our children. It is so difficult for parents and caregivers to keep up with all this technology and ways these predators will use it to try to engage our children and our young people. I encourage parents to be very vigilant with regard to this risk, and I thank the community and our law enforcement agencies for working together to educate and lobby for ways to keep our children safe.

Above all else, the parents I know want to protect their children from harm. We need to create more awareness that it is important that, if we give our child a tablet or a smart phone, we must lay down the ground rules and stay engaged in our children's online lives. I hope the rules that we set in the early years will stay with our children as they get older. From the moment a child takes their first digital steps online, we need to be educating them about how to use technology safely and set firm boundaries around that use inside and outside of the home.

As parents, we are our children's first line of defence against the risks they can be exposed to online and hopefully we set up channels of communication that will stay in place over coming years. When I attended a child protection training program with Child Wise a few years ago, I was told by a worker there about a terrible case about a young lady who had built up a friendship online with a man who was not who he said he was. After many, many months she was lured to meet him to receive some concert tickets. He raped her. When she reported this rape to her parents, and because she was very courageous to do so, the police found out he had raped over 50 people before her.

This legislation we hope will help police intercept predators and it will introduce harsher consequences for deceptive conduct. This legislation will make it an offence to lie about being someone else, and it is a critical protection we need to keep our children and young people safe online. I commend this bill to the house.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (12:33): I just want to say a few words on this very important bill that has been brought before the house. I think it is one of our very first bits of legislation in this area of reform. This bill is instrumental in protecting children, which is so important. Governments should not be afraid of tackling this issue when it comes to cybercrime and the changes that we are dealing with. There is no doubt that parliament is sometimes slow to react to these issues because of the legislative framework that goes around with it.

However, as the needs of the community change, to ensure that our community remains safe and that we protect the most vulnerable, especially our children, it is important that parliament has the ability to recognise technology and to amend our legal framework to reflect a changing society. To me, this bill is really important because it deals with the issue of child protection in a new paradigm which did not exist 10, 15, 20 years ago, but the reality is that the same sinister behaviour by individuals unfortunately does not change. As a parliament, we always need to be prepared to move with the times.

Some elements of the bill are obviously very important, and they are to increase prison terms for this type of behaviour and to give the authorities the ability to deal with that. This bill has become known as Carly's Law. As previous members have already noted in their contributions, in February 2007, Carly Ryan, who was only 15 years old, was murdered by 50-year-old Garry Francis Newman at the beach in Port Elliot.

For 18 months prior to the murder, Carly had been communicating online and on the phone with who she believed was an 18-year-old musician from Melbourne named Brandon Kane. This was, in fact, a lie. Brandon Kane was a fictitious character created by Garry Newman in order to seduce Carly. When police arrived to arrest him, they found that on his computer he had been messaging a 14-year-old girl in Western Australia. We are talking about a pretty sick individual. Garry Newman had over 200 fake online profiles.

One of the most important reasons for this bill is to assist with early intervention by police in these matters. As Mrs Sonya Ryan said recently, this legislation will, and I quote, 'Make sure that police are able to step in before they (the offenders) are able to get in front of a child.' It is vital that police can intervene before sexual predators are able to act. Another important reason for the bill is to make it clear in the law that there is no justification or situation where it is acceptable for adults to communicate with children under the age of 17 where they lie about their age or identity. I think it is really important that, as people in society, we are allowed to go along with our business trusting and knowing that we are always dealing with honest situations. The law must be reflective of that.

A statistic from the United Nations shows that there are over 750,000 sexual predators online. Since Carly's death, social media use has only increased, as I said back in 2007. A recent report from the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, titled 'State of play: youth, kids and digital dangers', found that, on average, young children have three social media profiles and teenagers have five profiles. An alarming statistic in their report was that young children between the ages of eight and 12 were significantly less likely than teens to undertake a number of tasks in order to stay safe online.

The report also found that 38 per cent of young people in Australia aged eight to 17 had used the internet to talk or chat to someone they did not previously know in the 12 months leading up to June 2017. These statistics, along with Carly's tragic story, are why this government is taking the initiative and putting forward this legislation. As a result of the new online age that we live in, children and teenagers are engaging with strangers online and potentially putting themselves at risk of sexual predators. It is our duty of care to ensure that we do what we can to ensure that this does not happen.

As has been mentioned, the Carly Ryan Foundation does some amazing work. I remember many years ago, when Mrs Ryan spoke at the Aberfoyle and Districts Lions Club at Flagstaff Hill, that the presentation she gave certainly reminded us of the important work she had been doing. The foundation is a certified online safety provider under the Office of the eSafety Commissioner as part of their certification scheme.

The foundation also offers online safety seminars for organisations and schools. I implore any school group or service club, such as Probus, Lions, or Rotary, to engage the services of the foundation to teach not just kids about online safety but all the community. I would like to thank Sonya and the foundation for the work that they do on behalf of Carly so that this tragedy does not happen to anyone else in Australia.

The member for Davenport touched on some of the federal legislation—the federal government passed similar laws last year. I know that there is going to be more work done through COAG on this matter to ensure that other states and other jurisdictions come on board to allow all kids across the nation to be safe, so that those predators know that wherever they are and wherever they hide, there will be serious consequences to their despicable behaviour. I support this bill and I support the government on its initiatives to ensure child protection and wellbeing.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (12:39): I rise to support the dishonest communication with children bill today. This bill creates two new offences with harsh penalties attached. If an adult knowingly communicates with someone under the age of 17, lies about their age or identity and meets with them or arranges to meet with them, they are liable for a maximum prison term of five years. If an adult knowingly communicates with someone under the age of 17, lies about their age or identity and has the intent to cause an offence against them, they are liable for a maximum prison term of 10 years.

The bill is a result of the tragic circumstances that led to the murder of 15-year-old Carly Ryan in February 2007. Carly was manipulated and controlled by an internet predator who posed as a young boy, a cyberspace alter ego of a 50-year-old predator and paedophile. This adult sexual predator spent months masquerading as an 18-year-old musician before arranging to meet Carly and luring her to a final, fatal meeting at Port Elliot. These deceptive actions of lying about his age to Carly and pretending to be someone other than who he was, which ultimately led to Carly's death, are not a crime under existing state law.

I must acknowledge Carly's mother, Sonya Ryan, who was in the house when the bill was first read and is here in the house today. She has endured the ultimate pain of losing a child at the hands of an online predator and has risen from such devastation to campaign tirelessly for a law that will give police more power to intervene.

In my electorate of Morphett, there are two demographic groups that are highly represented. One of those is 40 to 50 year olds, many of them in families with young children. The other demographic is 65 to 70 year olds, many with grandchildren. Safety and wellbeing of children are therefore a priority for the people of Morphett, and this is why the bill before us today resonates so highly with me and many others in Morphett. As I outlined in my maiden speech, I have four children; three of them are under the age of 17, and one is a 16 year old. While not projecting my home situation as the basis for decision-making, it can help inform me and, speaking with many other parents in Morphett, my experiences in this area of online communications are not uncommon.

At the time of Carly's death in February 2007, online access was different from today. In early 2007, online access was principally obtained via a computer or laptop. It is worth noting that July 2007 saw the first iPhone released in the US and 11 July 2008 marked the release of the iPhone with 3G access here in Australia. This smart phone and other similar devices have seen an explosion of communication and accessibility tools that are now available to people via social media. These social media and other tools are taken for granted today, especially by young children under the age of 17, who really have grown up with this as an intertwined way of forming relationships.

There are often multiple handheld devices in each household. In my case, my 16 year old is becoming independent. As many other parents would attest, at this stage of her life friendships are just as important to her as her family, so she is constantly communicating with them online. To totally remove this ability to communicate is a form of social isolation that older generations may not understand and may not necessarily agree with; nonetheless, it is reality for the teenagers in today's online world.

As parents, when my wife and I are at home with all the children after a busy day, there really is a sense of reassurance that everyone is at home, safely protected within the four walls of our house. I imagine, for example, going to each of my children's bedrooms to let them know that dinner is ready and, on opening my 16 year old's door, I find an unknown adult sitting on her bed. That is quite confronting, and no parent would accept that; however, in the non-physical world of the internet, that is exactly what could be occurring while we, as parents, are making dinner, not seeing the dangers that may be confronting our children. That is why I was pleased last year, following the 10^th anniversary of Carly's murder, that the federal government agreed to insert a version of Carly's Law into the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

The Criminal Code Act 1995 was amended to include the new offence of using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to, engage in sexual activity with, or procure for sexual activity persons under 16. This new offence carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years. At a commonwealth level, while Carly's Law is broad and the preparation to cause harm or engage in sexual activity with a child is outlawed, including lying about age, it requires police to prove that there is intent to commit harm. This commonwealth law has allowed alleged offenders to be charged under this law; however, police are burdened with the need to prove intent to harm.

The feedback from police is that they are watching predatory behaviour unfold online but cannot immediately act. The police are eager for a law that allows them to arrest a predator before a child is groomed or procured for sex, and consequently before harm can occur, while at the same time police are also warning that this predatory behaviour towards children online is on the rise. The time frame between an adult sexual predator actually making contact with a young person and then attempting to meet them is reducing. In Carly's case, it was 18 months. More recently, it has been a few months; now we are seeing as little as two weeks. This is brazen behaviour that must be addressed.

I, myself, cannot imagine the reason why an adult would lie about their age and want to meet a young child under the age of 17. This amendment bill, if passed, says that society in South Australia will not tolerate this. There should be no situation where an adult sexual predator is able to take advantage of a child through deception and, for this reason, I support the bill. It is a bill that will give police the ability to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute people before they have an opportunity to either meet with or cause harm to a child.

It is legislation that demonstrates that this government is putting the protection and wellbeing of children as a priority and ensuring community safety and will act as a clear deterrent and provide for early intervention. Again, I acknowledge Sonya Ryan and the Carly Ryan Foundation for their tireless work to see this bill come to this house and also for the other work the foundation does to protect children by educating them and their parents that, while the internet is a valuable tool for communication and education, they need to understand that their intended audience may be very different from what the actual audience is and that not everyone has the right intention online.

I also thank the Attorney-General for her advocacy and work on this bill. Pleasingly, she has outlined in this parliament that, should this parliament approve this legislation regarding dishonest communication with children, she will use her best endeavours to ensure that it is replicated around the country. I commend this bill to members.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (12:48): I rise to support the Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Communication with Children) Amendment Bill and thank all members so far for their contributions to this debate. It is evident sitting here the passion those who have children have contributed to this debate and, as somebody who is not yet in that situation, it is evident that no parent wants to see their children put in harm's way. To have the ability for this bill to address a portion of that and to reduce risk for parents of young people, it is an incredibly important bill.

The situation relating to Carly Ryan's death has been addressed by many of my colleagues, so I do not wish to detail those events any further, but I wish to recognise the loss of Carly Ryan. I also recognise that what happened to Carly could have happened to any South Australian child. The bill seeks to introduce two new offences to apply. The first is where an adult communicates with a child and lies about their age or identity and seeks to meet with the child, and the second is the same but with the intent to commit an offence against a child. I note that serious penalties will apply to those who find themselves on the other side of this bill.

With any bill, we look at the intent behind it and at what it is seeking to address. The government has introduced this bill and sees it as a real opportunity to promote the safety of children in this state. Obviously, that is something all of us in this chamber want to address. It is our responsibility to address child safety issues where we can, and this will allow the important part, the early intervention, before the behaviour moves any further down the track. As many have said, there is absolutely no justification for adults to communicate with children and to lie about their age and identity.

I also wish to recognise the vitally important work that Carly's mum, Sonya, and the family have undertaken since Carly's death. The active advocacy role that Sonya Ryan has taken since Carly's death is absolutely important, for her to have stayed vigilant and to have seen the gap in the commonwealth legislation. It is incredibly important that this situation is addressed and that, if possible, we do not see this situation happen again.

The circumstances surrounding the death were obviously difficult for Sonya, to have to be in that circumstance, for any mother to deal with such a tragic loss of their child, but the strength Sonya has shown, the ability to work for the benefit of other South Australian parents both in the establishment and the work of the foundation on internet safety, as well as the advocacy efforts around Carly's Law, are both honourable and absolutely commendable. I join the Attorney and Deputy Premier, as I think all in this house do, in urging other state jurisdictions to introduce similar legislation if this is passed by this parliament—and I have no doubt it will be.

While I do not wish to speak for too long on this bill, that certainly does not represent the importance I believe it has for our South Australian community. I am absolutely certain that the people of Colton want this behaviour addressed in legislation, and I am absolutely certain that the people of South Australia want this behaviour addressed by legislation. The seriousness and prevalence of this behaviour cannot be understated, and in this light I commend the bill to the house.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:53): I rise to speak briefly on the Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Communication with Children) Amendment Bill 2018. In doing so, I would like to highlight the fact that the significant points are that this bill will target adults who lie about their age to get a child under the age of 17 to meet with them and that it will deliver severe penalties as a result.

I chaired the federal parliament's Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety in 2010. It was the first time I met Sonya Ryan, and it was interesting to have Sonya appear before the committee wanting to offer support and wanting to offer advice and solutions to some of the issues we were faced with. She did not come in and say, 'Don't let your children go on the internet,' or, 'Take away their devices.' What she put across to us was that we needed to do whatever we could to help keep them safe, and that is what this legislation today is endeavouring to do.

If you go onto the Carly Ryan Foundation website, it says, 'Our vision is to create a positive experience online for all children, teens and young adults.' I know that with the work Sonya has done that is what she has set out to do—to ensure that what happened to Carly will not happen in the future. This legislation goes some way to being a deterrent for predators so that we do not have situations like this occur again.

Sonya, I really do thank you for the contribution you have made. I know that when we put forward legislation like this we will not know about the individual children who are protected by it, but we know that the work you have done and the work this parliament is doing today will ensure that our children are safer than they have been previously. The member for Hurtle Vale has asked that I also place on the record both her gratitude and Neil's gratitude for the work you have done in Carly's name, so I do that and I am pleased to be able to support the bill today.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (12:55): I sincerely thank all members who have made a contribution to this debate and indicated their support, particularly those in the opposition, who indicated early that this would have their complete assent.

There are just two matters I wish to update the house on in relation to legislation of this kind. Before I do, I formally thank parliamentary counsel for their diligent work in dealing with the drafting of the bill. It is not legislation without controversy. I expect that some aspects of it will be raised at the Council of Attorneys-General in June that will not support entire favour. There is a principled position in relation to criminal law that espouses that you can really only be guilty of actually committing a crime, rather than thinking about committing a crime, so this is on the edge. But in circumstances where children are vulnerable to predatory behaviour via our telecommunications, this is necessary and we are proud to be presenting it.

The two matters I want to raise are that, in respect of the commonwealth offence, partially of which this law is developing because of the difficulty of successfully prosecuting under the commonwealth offence, there has been a successful outcome in Western Australia. I wanted to report that to the house. Only a few days before the tabling of this bill, Patrick Ian Crowley was found guilty of three offences in relation to predatory and grooming offences, one of which was the commonwealth equivalent of Carly's Law. He is aged 27 and was convicted of those three charges and is now facing deportation to Ireland. I am sure that is at least one family who would be saying thank goodness for this type of law that would enable someone to be caught, convicted, sentenced and face deportation.

The other matter I want to raise is really in continuation of what I said in presenting this bill. It is not as though we do not have other serious offences that apply to exploitation, assault and criminal conduct towards children. I alert members to section 63B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. That relates to all the laws surrounding procuring a child to commit an indecent act.

Although we are today amending the deception laws currently in our Criminal Law Consolidation Act by adding in a new aspect of deception and a criminal offence for it, I would just advise members that under 'Procuring child to commit indecent act' there are a number of categories. I now have to hand the number of recorded offences over the last few years in relation to this legislation. It should highlight to members the reason why it is important that we have a process and, indeed, an offence that can hopefully intervene at an earlier stage. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00.