Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Communication with Children) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 5 June 2018.)

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:39): I rise in support of this bill. The bill is very simple, in that it creates an offence to lie about your age when communicating with a child online. There is also a secondary greater offence to lie about your age with the intention to commit an offence against the child. The bill is as a result of the tragic death of Carly Ryan in 2007. Carly was 15 when a 50-year-old man pretended to be a 20-year-old American called Brandon. Brandon did not exist and the man, Garry Francis Newman, became enraged when Carly refused his sexual advances and murdered her.

Carly's story has been well documented, so I have not gone into the particulars here. Since her death, Carly's mother, Sonya, has worked tirelessly to promote online safety and for this law, Carly's law, to pass through parliament. I thank Ms Ryan for her efforts and can only hope that the work we do will honour the memory of her daughter. Increasingly, children are getting online from a younger and younger age. I have witnessed two year olds being very proficient in unlocking and navigating iPads in order to bring up Peppa Pig videos.

Children often think they know best, are bulletproof and do not need protection. At the same time, there seems to be a growing cohort of perverts who are using the internet to facilitate their sick sexual desires. Children are often innocent and naive to the lies that these predators tell them. It is not the fault of the children as they have not yet been exposed to such matters. The fault lies entirely and squarely with those who deliberately deceive them for their own personal gain. This bill will make it easier to prosecute those with nefarious intentions.

As members may be aware, I introduced a very similar bill in 2013, which had general support from both Labor and Liberal; however, the bill lapsed due to prorogation. It is a pity it has taken so long for this parliament to see another version of this bill. However, given that the federal government passed similar laws last year, I commend the government for introducing them into this parliament. It is better late than never.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:42): I rise to proudly speak in support of the Criminal Law Consolidation (Dishonest Communication with Children) Amendment Bill 2018, which amends the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935. Specifically, the amendments seek to include two new offences where an adult communicates with a child and lies about their age or identity, seeking to meet with the child or with the intent to commit an offence against the child. These two new offences will carry maximum penalties of five years and 10 years respectively.

Of course, the bill is prompted by the tragic death of 15-year-old Carly Ryan in 2007. In her mother's own words, Carly was a beautiful, sensitive, loving and amazing young girl with a world of possibilities before her. Cruelly, Carly's promising future was taken away by a selfish, pathetic, deviant paedophile. When Carly was 14, she started chatting online to someone in Victoria she was made to believe was a 20-year-old man by the name of Brandon Kane.

Carly thought Brandon, who portrayed himself as a young guitarist, was her ideal boyfriend. Carly was young and impressionable and developed strong feelings for Brandon as their online relationship grew. But what Carly did not know was that Brandon never existed. Brandon was a fake persona constructed to dupe her by the evil predator who murdered her. In truth, Brandon was actually 47-year-old paedophile predator Garry Francis Newman. Newman masqueraded as Brandon in a perverted plan to secure her and her mother's trust, both of whom were completely unaware of his sinister motivations and intent.

This cyberspace alter ego was cunningly used by Newman to create and maintain a connection with Carly. The fictitious Brandon was one of up to 200 fake online identities Newman created in a bid to communicate and have sex with young girls. That should send chills down the spine of all normal decent-minded human beings.

The deception of Carly continued, with Newman showing up at Carly's 15^th birthday under the guise of another fake identity, that of Brandon's adoptive father, in place of the fake Brandon, who was conveniently overseas. Carly's mum, Sonya, warned Newman to stay away from her daughter, but he continued to relentlessly pursue her with the fake Brandon persona. Carly's deception at Newman's hands extended to her friends, with one of her friends, Katie West, recently speaking for the first time about Newman isolating Carly from her friends while making up rumours about her online and attributing these to her friends.

Newman eventually lured Carly to a supposed meeting with Brandon on 19 February 2007 at Horseshoe Bay near Victor Harbor. There, Carly was viciously assaulted and left to die. It took police 11 days to locate Newman. On the day of his arrest, he was logged onto his computer as Brandon, manipulating another 14-year-old girl located in Western Australia. Police also found a stash of child abuse material on his computer and evidence of his pursuit of young girls here and overseas. Newman was found guilty of murdering Carly and is now serving a sentence with a 29-year non-parole period.

It is astonishing that, up to his fateful meeting with Carly at Horseshoe Bay, none of Newman's activity was illegal. Newman was able to manipulate, lie and deceive Carly online, and there was nothing the law could do to protect Carly or give the police, had they known, the ability to intervene. This issue was taken up federally by Nick Xenophon, who fought for years to have Carly's law introduced by amending the commonwealth criminal code to make such conduct a crime.

My upper house colleague, the Hon. John Darley, also worked tirelessly for years to introduce Carly's law in previous state parliaments, to no avail. Nick, along with former senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore, worked with the federal government to finally see the passage of the federal version of Carly's law in June 2017. The federal law introduced by the Turnbull government makes it a crime to plan to harm a child under 16, and in particular targets predators who misrepresent their age. It has already been used by law enforcement as a valuable tool in their arsenal to keep scum like Newman away from children.

The bill before us today mirrors the law as it was originally drafted to make it an offence for a person over 18 to intentionally misrepresent their age in online communications with minors for the purposes of encouraging a physical meeting with the intention of committing another offence. This bill formed part of SA-Best's policy on cyber safety during the 2018 state election. I thank the government for introducing the bill with such speed following the election. This bill should have been made law years ago and finally closes an important loophole in the law. There is no reason for an adult to knowingly misrepresent their age to someone they believe is under 17, particularly if they believe doing so will make it easier to meet or to commit another offence.

Carly's dedicated mother, Sonya, has campaigned tirelessly since the murder of her daughter for stronger laws to protect young people online. It is to her that we owe the most gratitude for never giving up. This bill is a testament to her courage and tenacity to want to protect children. Sonya has displayed extraordinary strength and dedication to ensure the safety of our children in the online space. Predators will go to extreme lengths to manipulate children during the grooming process. What happened to Carly can happen to any child. We must forever be vigilant regarding the safety of our children.

The internet is constantly evolving and changing. The pace of technological growth means that children are now almost always more comfortable in their online communication than their parents are. What we adults still see as new and different is almost as essential to them as breathing. We know there is an ever increasing online presence of Australian children and an associated increased threat from online predators.

The education session Sonya provides through the Carly Ryan Foundation is compelling and is a must for all children and parents to stay ahead of the risks and stay safe online. New forms of communications mean that we need laws that keep up with those changes to protect our children. As politicians we cannot stand idly by while our criminal law lags behind technological advances. We need to be at the forefront of these changes.

This bill provides an additional and crucial line of defence in combating online predatory behaviour. It should not have taken the state election for Carly's Law to finally become a reality in South Australia. That said, we now look to the other states to follow our lead. Thank you, Mr President.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. C.M. Scriven.