MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS ANIKA WELLS: Like many parents across the country this morning, I'm crestfallen to see that Angus Taylor has made a decision to side with big tech over Australian parents and Australian kids, in a policy area that until yesterday was bipartisan, keeping kids safe online. This is a pretty simple proposition. It's a pretty short bill. It's four pages. It's 500 words. It is giving the eSafety Commissioner powers that she has asked the Parliament for in order to strengthen her case against big tech in the Federal Court. It is inexplicable to delay accountability and to pick something so simple and should be so clear off to an eight-week inquiry and it's on Angus Taylor to account for himself. Any questions?

JOURNALIST: Minister, in terms of the gambling legislation, could you clarify the banning of influencers promoting betting online? Does that include everyone, and is it to crack down on betting companies basically hiring people to promote their business?

WELLS: That's to the intent. But like I said, I'll shortly introduce the bill to Parliament this morning so everybody will be able to see every word and get to the point with the specifics.

JOURNALIST: The social media ban, originally there was only one day for people to put submissions to the original inquiry into those laws. Why is the government in such a rush? Why can’t they just look at it, given these are such significant changes? Why can’t the government just wait for a couple of weeks to make sure that things are effective?

WELLS: This is urgent. As you heard Emma Mason say on Channel 9 this morning, where there are parents who have lost their children to the harms online and have been, to this point, very generous with their own time and their own heart and suffering to get these reforms– 120,000 parents asked us to do this. Obviously, we have a big piece of work to do with Digital Duty of Care, and we should be thorough with that. And I'm working on the exposure draft to give to everybody in the second half of the year. But this isn't trying to solve the internet. This is the eSafety Commissioner needs to take big tech to court. We know they're taking the piss. We all agree that more under-16s should be off the internet, off social media than they are. She asked us- she asked the Parliament- for these additional powers. We are trying to give them to her. Delaying the bill is delaying accountability for big tech.

JOURNALIST: Just on that Digital Duty of Care, if I may, where are we up to with that? Are you willing to talk about the possibility of that coming into place?

WELLS: We've done extensive consultation on the Digital Duty of Care, and we'll continue to do that. We would love that to be bipartisan as well. I’m crestfallen that the Coalition has walked away from bipartisanship on this bill. This, until yesterday, was world-leading law. Australians could be really proud of the fact that 20 nations have followed in our footsteps. Angus Taylor appears to be ready to throw that away to get himself through the political winter he finds himself facing. But it isn’t too late – he could make the decision today to return to bipartisanship, to keep kids safer online by giving the eSafety Commissioner the powers that she has asked the Parliament for urgently.