EMMA REBELLATO, HOST: New data shows almost five million social media accounts have been deactivated since the government's ban on under-16s took effect. The Communications Minister, Anika Wells joins us now from Brisbane. Minister, thanks for joining us this morning.

MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS ANIKA WELLS: Morning, Emma.

REBELLATO: Were those numbers what you expected? How many more do you think there are to go?

WELLS: Emma, this is an incredible Australian story. We have about 1.2 million Australians aged between 13 and 16 here in the country, and in the first week of our social media ban, we deactivated 4.7 million social media accounts. That is cultural change. Long way to go, obviously, and lots more to do in this space. But these are world-leading laws, the world has been watching, and what an incredible story for us to now say we deactivated 4.7 million accounts in the first week.

REBELLATO: Meta has recently come out with its own numbers, saying it's still obviously very critical of the ban. Now, one of the reasons is because it says the ban is blocking vulnerable kids from getting help online. How are you going to support kids who would be feeling more isolated because of this? 

WELLS: Emma, one of the things I did in the run-up to the social media ban starting on 10 December is meet with mental health peaks. The Albanese Government had a huge boost to mental health funding in the budget in May in the run-up to this December reform to make sure they were standing ready to assist teens who did struggle with the change. We appreciate it is a nasty change for teens losing something as opposed to the generation we're protecting who are coming through who will never experience social media accounts until they turn 16. So, we've been mindful of that all along and we continue, particularly our Assistant Minister for Mental Health Emma McBride, continue to work with our mental health peaks on this important work.

REBELLATO: Minister, Parliament's being recalled early next week, as we know, because of the government's hate speech and gun laws. Now, the Coalition's come out saying it looks unsalvageable. The Greens say they won't support it in its current form. Is that it? Is there any chance that this legislation will now pass?

WELLS: Emma, I think the Opposition Leader saying these laws are unsalvageable really flies against the very tenets of why we have an Australian Parliament in the first place. The idea is that people of a broad range of views from a broad range of parts of the country come together to work through complex and difficult reforms. That is what this is. We don't shy away from that. We've been busy working on it since that terrible day back in December. The Opposition Leader has been calling for us to do this faster than we have been able to do it, and now the time has come for us to sit down, negotiate, be thoughtful and deliver what Australians expect, which is important reform in an important area.

REBELLATO: The Greens say that they won't support it in its current form, they're saying that there needs to be more protections for other minority groups as well. Is that something the Federal Government will look at now, straight away?

WELLS: We'll be working with whomever we can within the Parliament to get these important reforms through. There are a number of really key measures that the Albanese Government has spent the summer working on to bring to Parliament as quickly as we could, and that starts Monday. Of course, the Senate is a really important part of getting this done. Of course, we'll be listening to those parliamentarians who bring their views of their groups and stakeholders to the Parliament and we'll work them through.

REBELLATO: Are you worried about the possible impacts on freedom of speech?

WELLS: We consider all of these things and you would have heard yesterday the Home Affairs Minister talk about trying to calibrate the balance between freedom of speech and freedom of religion alongside doing things that are needed to combat hate, and particularly as the Minister for Communications, online hate. We've been looking at that with the Special Envoy about what we can do to bolster protections for people against online hate.

REBELLATO: A lot of people have been questioning this possible impact on freedom of speech. Politicians, groups, different sectors. Professor Anne Twomey, who, of course, you know is one of Australia's leading constitutional law expert. She says elements of this bill are concerning. So has the government rushed this, that it should have taken a bit more time to go through some of these elements?

WELLS: The opposition are the ones who have come out and said that they need more time, which is starkly hypocritical, given they are the ones who have been lambasting the Prime Minister across the summer for not acting more swiftly. So we have done what we can as quickly as we could. These are significant measures. We don't shy away from that. We are trying to take significant action to combat something so important. But honestly, Emma, the critics about freedom of speech come mostly from within the Opposition Leader's own ranks. She is leading a deeply divided opposition right at a time where Australians expect parliamentarians to act with some unity of purpose.

REBELLATO: One of the other elements, of course, of this omnibus bill is to do with gun laws. Now, part of it is the proposed gun buyback scheme. Now, this is supposed to be a 50-50 joint initiative with the states. You're a Queenslander. Are you disappointed that it looks like the Queensland Government isn't entirely happy with this and possibly doesn't want to be part of it?

WELLS: I would urge the Queensland Premier to work with the federal government. I saw his most recent comments were that he was considering it and working it through, and that's what we'd expect of any Queensland Premier to represent Queenslanders in the Federal Parliament. I know how my constituents feel here in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, and I'll be advocating for those reforms being led by the Prime Minister when I go to Parliament on Monday.

REBELLATO: Minister Anika Wells, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

WELLS: Pleasure, Emma.