Australian Policies -- from December 2023

There are better ways.

I wonder if people realise anyone over the age also needs to be verified…

Riolio will have all our details!

What’s that got to do with citizenship - you know you can apply for citizenship if you’re born overseas. If home ownership depended on citizenship, there’d be a lot more immigrants applying for it - even the stinking Poms !

Most of these recent immigrants come from countries where home rental is the norm, not home ownership. They and some 30% of Australians would be more than happy with rental for life, provoded the landlords were required by law to provide acceptable long-term rentals at an affordable price. Check out the housing situation in France, Germany and Italy. The so-called “Australian dream” of home ownership is an English construct, which has no relevance to non-Anglo-American immigrants.

Our “Labor” government is too busy being Liberal Lite, and forcing people to buy housing via draconian mortgages which suit the banks and other lenders and the property investors but not the residents who have to foot the bill. They’d be better off legislating for fairer rents, but there’s fat chance they’ll do that, particularly with the arch-capitalist right-winger O’Neil running the Commonwealth housing department. Albo did one good thing in kicking her out of Home Affairs where she’d been an utter disaster, but why the hell did he give her the housing portfolio ? It would seem that all he wants there is to see the Greens off - stuff the poor who need housing.

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The better way is to treat all elements of cyber bullying as the serious issue it is and simply banning it won’t work.

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I think it would involve a staged process of limiting access, an educative process ( including the footprint left by posting or accessing) about what gets posted, and some sort of regulation on advertising, the use of cookies etc. So many social media sites are dependent on advertising, direct or indirect.
IIRC there will be a consultation process to identify feasible measures.
There are regulatory standards on MSM including TV in regard to children. While they aren’t all that strong, it’s worth pursuing for what is available on the internet, even if the measures could differ.

But how do you filter minecraft or discord?

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Who will give permission to those who are over fourteen? How will this be proven? What information form the user is required?

I want help for the kids but this flat out restriction seems an impossible task.

It is impossible. A policy invented by technological dinosaurs that see prohibition as the path of least resistance, not one that will actually have benefit.

Look at what happened when the esafety commissioner tried to fine twitter. Utterly embarassed herself

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Is it beyond technology to develop devices that have built in limits on access. e.g. a max of X social media sites? Underage kids are prevented from owning or having access to some products, such as cigarettes, alcohol or guns. It could be illegal for an underage person to have possession of a device which allows unlimited access to sites.
There are smart watches for kids that limit the number of contacts.

Regarding banning children from social media laws…

What does this mean for footy club / sports socials like Essendon Insta?

I know it’s highly risky and damaging to a child’s health watching Essendon socials (:joy:), seriously though, how will they determine what can / can’t be viewed and how can it be enforced?

A blanket ban of social media seems practically nearly impossible in practice / real world.

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Sites could be rated, like the movies

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I agree @Drapersmullet. It’s certainly a noble cause (try to protect the kids), but near impossible to enforce

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I predict this new law, all very well intended and with philosophical support, will end up becoming a PR mess for the government.

Albo has said laws introduced by end of year (3 months), yet the trial underway to guide it won’t likely have time to inform how best to construct the new law before year end.

Then the minister said today it could be introduced with age limits. Why?

So I predict it will end up being politically messy as it will ultimately be seen as a great thought bubble without any detail or thorough thought process and planning to ensure the law is workable and effective. Policy on the run.

The one thing that will help it is that it has bi-partisan support. ALP have essentially pinched a LNP proposal on this one.

It will still almost certainly be a mess when it comes to the actual implementation, though.

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There is absolutely no way they can make this work. What a stupid idea. Egg will end up on faces

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Yep. Need to educate your kids on internet safety. Very difficult and confronting but they need to understand social media and impacts as a life skill.

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Philosophically the concept does, I agree.

The Coalition will go at them on how they pull it together though. If it turns out as a thought bubble (in effect) without detail, a realistic and workable construct and deliverable, then it will be mocked and they will be criticised for being unable to bring a decent bit of legislation to parliament in the stated timeframe.

I think putting a pre Xmas timeline on it without any propper due diligence leaves them exposed and ripe for the picking.

That’s my view too. All well intended but I think they will be exposed as incompetent.

You’d just have a black market for phones that you could never enforce

It starts with education, and parents being accountable. Kind of like it always has

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There are terrible things on social media that are not moderated, leading younger teenage kids to thinks it’s socially acceptable. They are at an age where they rebel against their parents and the values they have been brought up with.
It’s a problem, all rules are broken, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. It’s the how to do it and it shouldn’t be rushed.
Malinauskas has started the conversation in SA and it’s getting support in the community.

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