Opposition calling upon Labor government to implement social media ban

the opposition's calling on the albanesi government to follow in the footsteps of South Australia and ban young children from accessing social media platforms under the state's proposed laws Tech Giants could face tough penalties if they let anyone under the age of 14 create an account the Coalition wants to take it a step further lifting the age to 16 nationally because what we're seeing with the mental health of Australian children especially girls is a crisis it is completely unacceptable and in action is not an option let's go live to the South Australian Premier Peter malinow Premier thanks for your time does this report by the former High Court chief Robert French does this basically debunk The View that this can't be done yes it does it makes it clear Kieran that it is open to state legislates but also the Commonwealth to regulate the activity of these social media services and we know it is necessary this is a a challenge that parents around the country are literally tearing their hair out we see kids being done harm we know that's true from a growing body of international peer-reviewed research um so it's time for governments to act and you know I don't think any any leader around the country should sit on their hands on this matter and I'm I'm very grateful for the support that a number of leaders across the political divide around the country are providing for the report that Mr French has delivered for the South Australian government because the 100% result here is we get a harmonized set of laws around the country and get on with the task of preventing kids being done harm and I've had other state governments tell me that you've been open with the report and the information that you've got so ideally they can pick up the French report and run with it themselves 100% Kieran that's exactly right and I I I really want to pay contribute and and give thanks to my uh State and territory counterparts um and I said like I said both you know both labor but also um liberal leaders as well who are supportive of this effort uh this shouldn't be about partisan politics this is just about getting some regulation in place in an area that is currently totally lass Fair these companies are allowed to do whatever they like and we know from whistleblowers and amongst others that there is almost an industrialization of addiction here um targeting young people getting them addicted uh to these social media services in a way that does them harm I mean it's when you actually think about it Kieran it's it's mindboggling that we haven't got to this point sooner about tackling this challenge if it was cigarettes or alcohol or any other product or service that does kids harm we see government's respond and I think this is required in this instance and and it is as you rightly point out and Addiction in its own way when you look at the age I just want you to clarify cuz I know you've put some thought to it why did you land at 14 with parent verification over that because as you put it yesterday this empowers parents to say look this is what the government's saying and so in those internal family conversations and Dynamics it shifts the balance as we all know as parents that's important now why not make it 16 cuz then you can remove that yeah area of Doubt between for the 15 and 16 year olds well look quite frankly um Kieran this is a an example of where we decided to imitate other uh states around the world so we saw Florida implement the brand um I think was one of the first movers in in Florida uh Governor Ronda Santos who's obviously got very different politics to to myself um but he took a leadership position to his credit uh and they did 14 and under under 14 for the ban and 14 and 15 year olds with parental consent I don't I I think the the idea of you know having a carve out for children and saying look this is a nogo Zone and then graduating towards adulthood where ultimately of course young adults will have to make their own decisions I think that makes sense and that's why we've got that that inter that sort of period in the Middle where we say look kids can get access it wouldn't be illegal but it's got to be done with parental consent um I think that just creates that of graduating towards ad Hood which I think is appropriate in this instance but look you know the fact is that at the moment we've got an environment where any kid can do anything or or any social media um platform can give access to these kids willy-nilly now some of them have internal policies but most of them are hon ited in the breach as far as we can tell so uh the French report you know it's pretty substantial here and it's a 276 page effort to really work through some of the detail of the issues and I think it gives an impetus for governments around the country to act and we're rather optimistic that we can be a leader in that regard yeah there's no doubt you are doing that I I wonder do you think that the federal government might be able to pick up the report as well and and and crack on because they're talking about the age verification trial would you like Michelle Roland and the communications minister to to take this on and to speed things up look we very much would welcome collaboration uh with the Commonwealth I've spoken to the Prime Minister myself about this issue and I'm very grateful for his interest in it and the the Commonwealth obviously is doing the age verification trial which is welcome and it's it's referenced in the report itself but yes I mean the short answer is I think the 100% result here isn't having South Australia plus one law Victorian Western Australia path you know a separate set of laws what we really want is a harmonized set of law across States or the Commonwealth intervening and legislating over the top but I will say this though um I think there needs to be a degree of urgency Kieran because I mean what we know is that kids are being done harm now yeah I mean now mean this is happening and I think you know what I've been saying is that the 100% result we want to shoot for uh a single law across the country great but I'm not going to sit around and wait forever for that so we got to get on with it get cracking and um I hope that this report provides the impetus to do that and if look other you other states or or the Commonwealth whoever's in charge decides not to to pursue it that is their prerogative but I'm going to be absolutely clear about this there is not a circumstance where South Australia uh isn't going to lead and isn't going to act on this because um I just don't think we can sit around and bear our heads in the sand on this matter for too much longer no that the the message of urgency is a really uh important one obviously that is to the the federal government and other state jurisdictions to move move on this yeah that that's that's right isn't it yeah AB yeah well um well I think everybody around the world I mean we're seeing we're seeing legislators and leaders and you know policy makers around the world respond to this now because the evidence is so overwhelming right and I just think we're got to get on and get cracking with it and I hope that this helps this report accelerates that effort which is why we commissioned it I mean Robert French I mean this is the former Chief Justice of the higher Court frankly one of the one of the smartest Minds in the country he's put a lot of effort into it he he developed the report in quick time it's only been a a few months since we initiated the effort uh because we do want to get cracking on this and I just hope that um with the and the the the comments that have been made around the country just over the course of the last 24 hours I think does demonstrate there's a degree of momentum and I'm pretty optimistic we'll get there Kieran yeah and just to before we move on from this issue can you just elaborate on that that idea because I know from personal very very personal experience having this example of what you're doing enables parents to say look the South Australian Premier is Banning this this is not appropriate for anyone below 14 and it extends to say okay you shouldn't have a phone at that age or whatever else it Empower it shifts the balance and I know it sounds funny to be talking about family conversations like that but that's what these government moves do precisely the point Kieran right because you know parents at the moment uh are rendered almost uh you know useless as part of this dynamic because if every single kid has got a phone on social media and you know and the report references this in some detail it you know um social media and on phones is now part of the social infrastructure of how young people engage with one another right it is fundamental and you know so if you're a child it's if a parent says we're going to take your phone away not let you have social media you are basically saying to that child well you will be excluded from engaging with your peers and that's not that's not a satisfactory outcome that's that's impossible you can't ask a kid to do that you can't expect a parent to ask a kid to do that so what we got to say is look this isn't just true for one kid this is true for all kids that is to say um we're going to make this consistent so that all parents can collectively say to their children no sorry this is against the law it's not going to happen and that makes the task a lot easier they did some research in the US Kieran which the Surgeon General Drew to my attention where they said to kids you know do you want to give social media up and they all said no but if you ask the kid well do you want to give social media up if you know all your friends are doing it too they all said yes so it's even children who are willing to give up social media if they knew that all their their mates were doing it as well so I think it's the law is more than just a punitive measure on social media companies it is also an enabler for parents teachers other leaders uh mentors out in the community to to get kids be able to engage with them in more healthy means Premier melan askus thanks so much for your time