Parliament returns: Major parties clash on tech laws about algorithms, unite against Hanson
Parliament returns for another week against a backdrop of tension as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson becomes the target of cross-party ire.
Labor has left the door open to negotiating its planned digital duty-of-care laws with the coalition as the parties find rare unity in condemning Pauline Hanson.
Government MPs will return to parliament on Monday hoping to garner bipartisan support for the contentious changes, which have been overshadowed in recent days by simmering feuds centred around the One Nation leader.
Under the proposed laws, tech companies could face fines of more than $100 million for failing to identify and prevent potentially harmful content being shown to users younger than 18.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The banned content includes material encouraging disordered eating, promoting misogyny or online bullying.
While Labor does not plan to legislate the reforms before the end of the year, it is seeking feedback and suggestions for the bill in the hope of achieving broad support.
The coalition opposes the changes, saying ministerial discretion to define harmful content could amount to political censorship online.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said she was willing to alter the proposed legislation to ensure it passed.
“I would be prepared to work with the coalition on the wording to make that work that meets the urgency requirement of the intent of that measure,” she told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
But Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said the draft laws were a “backdoor way” to reintroduce Labor’s failed disinformation and misinformation bill.
“This is abhorrent legislation ... we are going to fight it every step of the way,” she told News24.
The proposed laws include measures to force social media companies to offer users the option of algorithm-free feeds that show them posts from friends and other accounts they follow.
Parliament will sit during the week before breaking until mid-October, providing another backdrop to broad condemnation of Senator Hanson and One Nation.
She came under fire in the previous sitting week over a One Nation cartoon that branded former SAS soldier and Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie a traitor.
But the feud grew on Sunday after past comments from Senator Hanson resurfaced, in which she criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s late mother for living in social housing for several decades.
An emotional Prime Minister said he was stunned by the remarks, adding his mother was “way out of Pauline Hanson’s league”.
Mr Hastie accused Senator Hanson of being unfit to govern for both her defence of the cartoon and her comments about Mr Albanese’s family.
The Albanese government will on Monday announce $300 million in new grant funding for crisis and transitional housing to deliver 500 additional homes.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said too many women and children fleeing family violence, and young people with nowhere safe to go, were going without stable homes.
“That’s a failure of government in this country - and that’s why we’re standing up and doing something about it,” she said.
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