LAUNCH OF THE TASMANIAN THINKUKNOW CYBER SAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAM

Calvin Primary, Kingston Tasmania

Friday 16 April 2010

[CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY]

Acknowledgements

Calvin Primary School Principal Adrian Bosker

Federal Member for Franklin, Julie Collins

Calvin Secondary School Principal Ric Peterson

AFP representative Commander Alan Scott

Simon Matthews. Executive Director, Christian Schools Tasmania

And most importantly the students, parents and teachers of Calvin Primary & Secondary Schools.

Announcement of the state launch of ThinkUKnow

On Friday 19th February I announced the national roll-out of the ThinkUKnow cyber- safety program at Ithaca Creek State School in Queensland.

Today, I am pleased to announce the state launch of ThinkUKnow in Hobart, Tasmania.

Calvin Primary School is the first school to have booked a ThinkUKnow presentation in Tasmania.

Since the announcement of the national roll-out of the ThinkUKnow cyber-safety program, about 50 schools from across Australia have booked a ThinkUKnow presentation.

Schools in Hobart can now go to the ThinkUKnow website and book a presentation.

ThinkUKnow raises awareness of how to keep our young people safe online.

This initiative aims to educate parents, carers and teachers about how to create a safe online experience for our young people.

Following a successful pilot of the ThinkUKnow Australia initiative in 2009, the program is now being rolled out across Australia.

It is hoped that by providing parents, carers and teachers with the knowledge and skills on cyber-safety and security, we can protect our children from the risks they may face online.

Government’s Commitment to cyber-safety

The Australian Government is serious about preventing the exploitation of children online which is why we hope to educate parents, carers and teachers on the risks young people face and how to mitigate these risks.

Protecting children online requires a multifaceted response.

In May 2008, the Australian Government dedicated $125.8 million over four years to a cyber-safety plan to inform and educate parents and children about the risks of Internet use and provide Internet safety advice, tools and online help.

Earlier this year, the Education Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard, announced the commitment of $3 million for the world-first cyber safety pilot developed and conducted by child safety charity, the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

The 164 schools participating in the cyber-safety pilot will be able to receive a ThinkUKnow presentation in order to assist them in achieving their e-smart accreditation.

Another example of how serious the Government takes this issue is demonstrated by the introduction of the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill into Parliament in early February.

The Bill introduces new offences for dealing in child pornography and child abuse materials overseas, as well as for using a postal service for child sex-related activity.

The new laws will support the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who play a significant role in ensuring children and young people are safe, whether in a real or virtual environment.

ThinkUKnow is one such resource that is now available to parents, carers and teachers to assist in making the online environment safe for children.

Importance of Education

For today’s generation of children, there is little divide between the online and offline world.

Whilst the Internet provides many benefits, there are people out there who seek to use the Internet and mobile technologies for criminal purposes, and seek to harm others.

ThinkUKnow aims to raise awareness of Internet safety and security issues – particularly those which affect children.

What is ThinkUKnow

The ThinkUKnow program involves presentations delivered by trained volunteers which is supported by a comprehensive website providing additional information and resources.

The focus of ThinkUKnow falls under three themes:

ThinkUKnow encourages opening up the lines of communication between parents and children so that what is happening on the Internet is as much a topic of discussion as, say, what happened at school that day.

We know that young people can be reticent to tell their parents if something makes them feel uncomfortable online, for fear of having their Internet privileges confiscated.

By helping start a dialogue between parents and children, we hope that young people will feel confident about going to their parents when they have a problem, and that their parents will feel better equipped in how to deal with these issues.

The ThinkUKnow program also provides advice on where to report when something goes wrong online, affirming that there is an online policing presence.

Cyber safety is everyone’s responsibility, and ThinkUKnow is a good example of law enforcement working with Industry to create a safe online environment for Australian children.

ThinkUKnow Online Seminar

Another core part of the ThinkUKnow program is an online seminar.

The seminar is available to all Australian parents, carers and teachers online.

The online seminar explains the various technologies and online applications that young people enjoy.

It also looks at the potential risks they may face, such as online grooming, inappropriate content and cyber-bullying and how to report and get help when things go wrong online.

The seminar also provides additional online resources which users can access at the conclusion of the seminar, to learn more about particular issues in their own time.

The ThinkUKnow online seminar is available via the ThinkUKnow website at www.thinkuknow.org.au

For schools outside of Hobart, they can go to the website and view the online seminar.

I congratulate the work of the AFP, Microsoft Australia and ninemsn that has enabled the national roll-out of this most valuable program.

Together, we can all work to make the internet a safer place for the most important Australians – our children. 

 ENDS