TODAY SHOW HOST, SARAH ABO: There were some really ugly scenes in parts of this country yesterday, as you would have seen. Horrific slogans yelled out. How concerned are you this morning? 

MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND SPORT, ANIKA WELLS: Awful. There were awful scenes and there were also known racists who were trying to spread division and hatred. And I think it is particularly appalling the people that were aggressive and violent towards our police officers. Australian police are having a very hard week at the moment, they're just trying to keep our community safe. I think that was particularly egregious. 

ABO: In Melbourne, right, where we're so stretched. I mean, you've got people, neo-Nazis, who were given a mic. They were given a platform to espouse their beliefs. Those interviewed proudly said they were neo-Nazis and proud racists. At a time when the government is trying to lower tensions around anti-Semitism, these people are openly admitting to being neo-Nazis.

WELLS: That's right. And in my role as Federal Minister, I can make very clear to your viewers this morning, there is no place for hatred in this country and the vast majority of people were not at these protests and are horrified by these protests and want to work together with other people in their community to make sure these people are the vast minority and cannot demonstrate their hate.

ABO: Anika, I'm not sure whether you saw the image, I think it was in Adelaide where Desi Freeman's picture was held up, right? He is obviously the wanted fugitive at the moment accused of gunning down two police officers. That is alarming. Are you worried that these kinds of movements are actually gaining strength in parts of Australia?

WELLS: I certainly am, and you would have seen Anne Aly, who's one of our experts and federal ministers, speak to that across the past few days and as Minister for Communication, it's how we stop this from spreading online. I think everybody in Australia has experienced an uptick in seeing this kind of behaviour because people are able to organise online. And part of what drives us as the Albanese Government and our mission to make online spaces safer, particularly for Australian kids, is the prevalence of this kind of thing and doing what we can where we can.

ABO: One of the key challenges that you face as government is, of course, that they are finding a legitimate cause of grievance in this country, right, and hijacking it. So, we're talking about an issue like housing, which is a legitimate concern for so many Australians. But it's because you lot haven't built enough houses, both parties, not just the Labor in government now, but previous government as well. It feels hopeless for so many out there. 

WELLS: Sarah, I would not for one second give any credence to the grievances of these people as legitimate. 

ABO: The point is they're finding a legitimate issue in Australia and they're hijacking it. That's the concern here because you're not facing it.

WELLS: Mostly sovereign citizens who hold conspiracy theories and then it grows from there and being able to navigate and organise online where previously... 

ABO: So, is there a housing concern? 

WELLS: I think we're conflating two different issues here and I'm at pains not to do that. Of course, the Albanese Government, you would have seen all last week in Parliament, we were doing more, announcing our new five per cent deposit scheme to get first homebuyers into home ownership more quickly. You know, reducing the 20 per cent down to five per cent so that people can actually consider this to be a realistic goal. Minister Clare O'Neil has full shoulders to the wheel trying to get as much done as we can at a federal level and working with our state counterparts. It's absolutely a problem. Housing affordability is absolutely something that comes up across the board. Let's not conflate that with this very separate, serious issue.

ABO: So the problem is that's what they're doing. That's exactly what they're doing and that's what's unfortunately giving them some more boldness. But let's move on, Anika, because there is quite a bit happening in your own portfolio as well. The government has trialled new technology regarding inappropriate content online. What's that trial found?

WELLS: The trial has found that age assurance can be private, efficient and effective and that there is no excuse for social media platforms in this country not to have age verification methods ready for 10 December when our social media minimum age restrictions come into place. And I don't know if your viewers are keen age assurance policy experts, but effectively it comes in three forms. Age verification, like when you show you're … talking to 65-year-olds about caravanning, they might infer that you are 65. If they see that you're talking to 13-year-olds about K-Pop Demon Hunters, they might infer that you are 13. Those are the three different methods. And in the tech ecosystem in Australia, there are many ways that platforms can assure themselves of age come 10 December.

ABO: Yes, Yes, enforcement has always been the issue with this legislation. Let's hope they do not find any loopholes. Anika, thanks for joining us this morning.