Interview with Peter Stefanovic - Sky News First Edition

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Back to Canberra now and the Albanese Government has ended the year on a high, with a world-first social media ban for under 16s. 
Joining us live from Canberra is the Workplace Relations Minister, Murray Watt. Minister, it's good to see you this morning. So it's not a watertight law, this one, but it is something. What's your view on its eventual passage? 

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Yeah, look, I think yesterday was a really important day both here in the Parliament and for Australians, Pete. We managed to get over 30 different bills passed by the Senate yesterday and last night dealing with all sorts of issues, mostly about cost of living and people's safety, and of course these social media age limits were one of the biggest bills that we got done. 
I think that what we've seen all around the country, and really all around the world, is that parents are increasingly worried about what sort of images their kids are subjected to over social media, and up until now it has been a largely unregulated environment. And I frankly think it's quite exciting that Australia is first in the world in taking steps to protect our kids with these age limits. 
So we'll obviously now move to the implementation phase led by Michelle Rowland as the Communications Minister. Of course, these laws don't take effect for 12 months, so there is a period of time for that implementation to occur and for parents, and importantly the tech companies, to make the changes that are going to be required as a result of these laws. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: Do you expect that they'd really play ball? 

MURRAY WATT: The tech companies? 

PETER STEFANOVIC: Yeah. 

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, I think they will, because we've obviously as part of this legislation included potential fines of up to $50 million, so that's not an insignificant amount for these companies. In addition to the social and reputational damage that I think they will continue to experience if they don't actually take this issue seriously. This has been coming for a long time, social media companies have had a long time to make changes, they haven't done so, and that's why we've stepped in to protect Australian kids and their families. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: The Human Rights Commission has reservations about it, a negative human rights impact on young people, is what they say. What do you say to those who need it for good? 

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, look, I understand that there are some people within the community, including the Human Rights Commission, who have reservations about this. But when you're in government, you've actually got a responsibility to take care of your citizens and put in place policies that protect them from harm, and we do that in a whole range of ways. And we do need to make sure that the law keeps pace with developments in technology, and of course the advances we've seen in social media and other technology have produced a lot of good for Australians, but we are seeing increasingly damaging effects on our kids, and that's something that governments can't ignore. So as I say, I recognise that not everyone supports what we're doing here, and probably if you are 14 or 15, you mightn't be thrilled about this, but this is about taking action, just as we do around alcohol consumption, cigarette consumption, to protect kids from dangers at a very young age. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: OK. So with that final flurry of legislation and debate, does that pave the way for an election now, Minister? 

MURRAY WATT: Well, not necessarily, Pete. You know, being a very active government, we've always got things that we want to get done, but obviously this does go a long way to bedding down a large amount of this Government's reform agenda for our first term. Thinking will increasingly go towards what we would do if we were fortunate enough to receive a second term. We've obviously begun a lot of thinking there, and already started laying down the building blocks, you know, the announcements that the Prime Minister made recently about reducing student debt and locking in free TAFE courses for the future is the beginning of our future agenda. But in my space in Workplace Relations, we're going to be talking a lot about the increased wages that our laws have provided in the workplace and the risk that Australian workers face if we see a Peter Dutton Government, given the promises he's made to change those laws. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: So do you expect to be back in Canberra before the election? 

MURRAY WATT: Yeah look, that's certainly the intention. I mean, personally I'll be back in Canberra in a couple of weeks' time, but for Parliament, the intention is to come back in February. There are obviously bills that we weren't able to pass this week, including the Electoral Reform Bill. So there's plenty still to be done, but it is a really good thing, I think, for Australians that we were able to pass so many laws yesterday dealing with cost of living, building more homes, keeping people safe, whether it be online, or from anti money laundering legislation, so I think it was a great day for the Senate to get that work done. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: All right. Just a final one in your wheelhouse, Minister, we've got 30 seconds left. The independent review to Secure Jobs Better Pay, final day of submissions?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, that's right. So the submissions close today on the review of the first wave of our workplace law reforms, Pete. We'll be having a good look at what everyone's got to say about that. But I think the evidence is clear that as a result of our changes; wages are going up, inflation is down, employment is up, and industrial action is much lower than it was under the Coalition. So some good news for workers and employers, but of course we'll take a good look at these submissions. 

PETER STEFANOVIC: We'll leave it there. Minister, thanks for your time.