Launch of ThinkUKnow cyber safety program in Victoria
Tuesday, 9 June 2010
Doncaster Primary School, Victoria
JOURNALIST: Can you tell us what today is all about?
O’CONNOR: It’s appropriate during National Cyber Security Awareness Week that we be here at Doncaster Primary School launching the ThinkUKnow program for Victoria. The ThinkUKnow program is a very important initiative of the Rudd Government that’s led by the Australian Federal Police and assisted by Microsoft and other partners.
It’s about tearing down the wall between parents and children so that we can have a proper conversation in the homes of Australia about the potential dangers of online security, of online activity. So what we need to do is ensure we build the relationship so that those parents who may not know a lot about the Internet or mobile technologies become better informed so that they’re enquiring about what their kids might be up to in chat rooms.
What we do know is the Internet and other forms of mobile technology is a wonderful tool. It’s a magnificent educational tool. It’s a fantastic social vehicle. It enables us to talk to our friends and family across the world in a split second. Fantastic stuff.
But it is not a benign playground and for that reason we need to have programs like this to ensure that parents and their kids are engaging in conversations about particular problems. This program allows for that information to be imparted to parents, hosted by schools around the country. We have 170 schools already hosting this program and we of course call upon all other schools in Victoria and across Australia to get involved, to have the Federal Police and volunteers provide seminars and indeed to get onto the website that’s been established – wwww.thinkuknow.org.au, which is a fantastic tool for people to know more. Particularly for parents to understand the particular dangers that the cyber world has for their children.
JOURNALIST: So what are you calling for schools to do?
O’CONNOR: Schools can enlist in this voluntary program. Can I acknowledge the efforts of Doncaster Primary School leading the way in Victoria. We have schools now in every state and territory enlisting in this program. The school is a fantastic meeting place for parents and for their kids and indeed involving teachers and carers, and for that reason it makes perfect sense that we can actually have face-to-face seminars for parents who want to know more about the dangers.
The one thing we’re aware of through the pilot last year, is that after parents attended the seminar, 96% said they knew more about the potential dangers and 91% of those parents said they wanted to do more about protecting their children.
So this is a very important initiative. We’re seeing now crimes occurring by people using such technology. The best way to reduce the levels of crime, the best way we can ensure children are not vulnerable to this technology is information and a relationship with their parents.
JOURNALIST: Is it ever safe for a child to be on a social networking site?
O’CONNOR: I don’t think we can expect people to stop using the wonderful tool that is the Internet or mobile technologies. We should expect people want to learn and be curious about the world. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t allow that to happen. What we do need however is enough information for parents to be engaged with their children about where they’re going and who they’re speaking to on the Internet – no different to the real world. They should be engaging with them, discussing with them what is occurring so that if a child feels in any way uncomfortable about what might be going on in a chat room or is suspicious about certain behaviour or has received inappropriate material online they will go to their parent and discuss that with them. We want them to do that. This website allows the Australian Federal Police to be automatically alerted if there is any suspicion as a result of an activity that may occur on a social chat room.
JOURNALIST: Does the need for this program undermine the Internet filter that’s being rolled out?
O’CONNOR: We need a combination of protections for our community. What we do know in relation to the filter, is that the filter would only look at the most limited information being refused, which is already refused by the Censorship Review Board now. So in other words, we’re not looking at restricting much information at all. This area is about the way in which certain people choose to prey upon children. That’s not filtering. This is about where people will use chat rooms and the anonymity of the Internet to procure and groom children or young people. We need a better relationship between parents and their children in order for children to raise concerns with them. Parents have to understand that things are going on in the virtual world and they should become more aware of those activities. The best way is to build that trust and that relationship with their kids.
