PRIME MINISTER
NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION INITIATIVE
There is no greater priority than the protection of Australia’s children.
The Coalition Government is totally committed to stopping child sex abuse, whether it involves the actual physical abuse of a child or using the Internet to spread child pornography or target children for abuse.
Authorities tell us that 80 per cent of child pornography comes from the Internet, and perverts are also using the Internet to “groom” or procure children for their depraved ends.
A re-elected Coalition government will spend over $30 million on a National Child Protection Initiative to protect Australian children and families from sex criminals. The Coalition will set up an Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Child Sex Offenders Strike Team containing three specialist teams to probe and prosecute paedophile networks and online child sex abuse.
Under a re-elected Coalition government, the AFP will receive an additional $28.4 million over four years to set up a national centre for major international and national referrals of child sex abuse material and images with the power and resources to target, infiltrate and shut down organised online paedophile networks. This approach builds on tough new laws to crack down on net porn, passed by the Senate early last week, strong action being taken by the AFP to stop child sex tourism and the recent establishment of the Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR).
Under the Coalition’s plan the AFP’s capacity to combat child sex offenders will be strengthened through the establishment of:
• A dedicated 12-member rapid referral team to handle international and national child sex offender referrals and referrals from the Australian National Child Protection Offender Register (ANCOR);
• A crack targeting and infiltration squad comprising five intelligence staff and three undercover staff will be established and dedicated investigation, and
• A child sex abuse disruption team made up of seven computer forensic specialists and seven investigators supported by a psychologist to enable the AFP to dismantle serious paedophile networks.
The AFP strike team will complement the important work state and territory police do in this area.
Australia is now more connected than ever before – but increased connectivity can also open a pipeline for perversion. Internet child pornography is a major issue for law enforcement, because the anonymity of the Internet is readily exploited by paedophiles and because of the ease with which images and video footage can be distributed using the Internet.
The Coalition will fight hard to make the Internet a safe place for Australia’s children so they can continue to enjoy the benefits of being online, particularly in the educational area. Importantly, combating child pornography and protecting our kids online involves parents, teachers and other community groups who have responsibility for educating and supervising children. Parents are at the frontline of ensuring our kids are safe when they are surfing the Internet.
The Coalition will ensure that parents and teachers are better informed to help them protect children from unwanted advances and inappropriate material on the Internet.
As part of our National Child Protection Initiative, we will also launch a National CyberSafe Programme. Under the CyberSafe Programme, federally-funded Internet advocacy group NetAlert will receive $2 million to run a two-year targeted training roadshow and information campaign aimed at parents, teachers and community groups. Complementing this programme the AFP will receive $3.7 million over the next four years to continue its important education and prevention programs aimed at parents, teachers and relevant community groups.
As part of the National CyberSafe Programme, AFP officers will work with NetAlert to train parents and teachers on the dangers confronting children online and inform them of appropriate measures to take to make their Internet experience a safe one.
The Coalition recognises the Internet is a wonderful education and research tool and we are prepared to fight hard to make it a safe place for Australia’s children so they can continue to enjoy the benefits of being online.
5 September 2004
www.pm.gov.au
