Topics: Stop It Now! Website
E&OE…………………………
Peta Credlin: But now to the latest on the Albanese government’s Stop It Now website, which looks like they’ve quietly overhauled it, after revelations exposed here and elsewhere about the paedophile content on that website, or content for paedophiles is probably the best way to say it, or would-be paedophiles. Claims like, don’t beat yourself up for having sexual fantasies about minors, not to worry if you can’t get the image of children out of your head as you masturbate. Yes, you heard that right. That’s the sort of stuff that was on this website, could still be there. The man who exposed much of it joins me now, Liberal Senator Matt O’Sullivan. Well, Matt, it’s hard to even discuss this stuff at 6 o’clock at night, let alone for my viewers and voters to pay for it as they have been. But yes, it’s good that some of it’s come down, but what’s left up there? Surely the whole website’s got to go.
Senator Matt O’Sullivan: Well, Peta, thanks for having me on your program to discuss this. It is very disturbing content on this website, and as you said, difficult to discuss here at this hour. But it needs to be discussed because this government has enabled this to happen. This website exists because we do have a problem in this country. In fact, Australian men, sadly, are some of the highest users of— perpetrators of child sexual exploitation in the world, not just an adjustment per Capita, it’s just on raw numbers. So we do, we have to face the problem. We do have an issue that we have to address. But what this website is doing is it’s been apologetic for people that have these issues. What the website should say is that it’s criminal behaviour, you need to seek out professional help, and you’ve got to stop it. The fact that a website exists is not the issue; it’s the content that’s on there.
Peta Credlin: Do we know who signed it off in the first place?
Senator Matt O’Sullivan: Well, and this is the issue, and the fact that they’ve taken this down without any media release, without any announcement, that they thought that they could just take it down under the cover of darkness is part of the problem. Unfortunately, we’ve got this situation with this government, and we’re seeing it across multiple policy areas, where they just outsource responsibility of many programs to bureaucrats, to commissioners, to others, rather than the minister taking direct responsibility. I’d like to know, and I asked questions about this in Estimates, who authorized it? Who approved it? Who authorized its takedown as well? The government haven’t just edited this information, they’ve removed whole sections of it. We don’t know what else might exist in other parts of government advice. There’s a helpline that people can call. Well, what’s the advice that’s given through this helpline? We need to have answers to these questions because Australian taxpayers are funding it, and of course Australian taxpayers are expecting that the prevention of this occurring in the first place, that child exploitation is occurring, needs to be wiped out.
Peta Credlin: Well, that was going to be my next question to you, Matt. Yes, we now know about this website thanks to you and others, but I mean, what else is out there? What other things are we funding that takes quite a sympathetic view to child sexual abuse? Because, you know, I went through that website page after page, all the modules, and it was highly sympathetic to people who are attracted to children. It wasn’t as you say it should be. It wasn’t tough. It wasn’t saying it’s a crime. It wasn’t saying any of those things. So what else is out there?
Senator Matt O’Sullivan: Well, we don’t know. And as I said, you call this hotline, you get on the call to someone. Now, I haven’t called that hotline. I don’t want to take up their valuable time. I want to make sure that people that are needing to access it can access it. But really, there should be answers given to those questions about what other material is available, what advice is being provided to people. We know that people need to take practical steps to be able to address whatever this situation is that they have in their lives. But just simply removing it without any explanation, as the government’s done here, is not OK. And I’m going to keep asking questions about this, and I’m going to expect answers, because it’s who knows what else is available and the advice that’s given.
Peta Credlin: Well, good on you, Matt. I’ve had a huge response to covering this story here on the show. So when you get more answers, if you get more answers, please give us a ring. I’ll have you back on the show that night. People are concerned. Thank you.