Live: Social media ban labelled a ‘test’ for Peter Dutton as backbenchers raise concerns

A stalemate over Labor’s Help to Buy and Build to Rent scheme is finally over after the Greens confirmed it will vote for the housing bills.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil was out on a victory lap this morning, after she stared down the minor party’s demands for a rent freeze and reforms to negative gearing.

She tells Nine the demands were “dead in the water” because they were “never good ideas to begin with.”

But she agrees the proposals are not a silver bullet to fix the housing crisis, which has been “generations in the making”.

“One of the things I want your your viewers to know is just be really wary about the snake oil salesmen in this housing debate who are pretending that there’s one thing we can do to fix the whole problem,” she says.

The Northern Territory coroner has called for a significant funding boost to the domestic, family and sexual violence sector  and announced she would hold a second major inquiry into the issue, after a landmark investigation into the deaths of four Aboriginal women.

The coroner made 35 recommendations in total, broadly calling for a significant funding boost to the sector — including for frontline emergency service responses and women’s shelters.

She also recommended an NT peak body be established to represent and advocate for the sector on a national level.

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy says it was an important moment for Australia, not just for the Northern Territory. 

“To realise that this is a national scourge that we have across our country, impacting First Nations women and children – and not only the Northern Territory, but the whole of the country, has to act,” she says.

McCarthy says we’re yet to hear from the NT government in response but told ABC News Breakfast she would be calling on them to “spend where it’s required” to assist the sector.

This is too critical. We know that, from a federal perspective, that there was a requirement to assist the family and domestic violence sector in the Northern Territory. And I urge the
Northern Territory government to do that immediately.

Family and domestic violence support:

An update to Australia’s budget outlook is expected to show a larger than expected slide into the red, according to a new report.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth was deployed to downplay concerns about the figures on morning television, pointing the finger at the Coalition for leaving the budget in disarray and soaring inflation.

She says the government has worked to bring inflation back down and increase wages growth while providing cost of living relief.

“We would be in a real recession right now if (opposition leader Peter Dutton) had got his way on so many policy issues,” Rishworth says.

Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie says the economic situation is the government’s fault.

“It’s been warned and warned about government spending. That’s why in comparable nations our numbers are in the toilet comparatively,” she says.

Debate on an age restriction for social media will continue today as the government hopes to legislate a ban for under 16s before parliament rises for the year.

It’s expected the bill will have support of the Coalition despite some backbenchers raising concerns about the ban.

Labor’s Amanda Rishworth branded it as test of Peter Dutton’s leadership.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, Peter Dutton said he would facilitate this important piece of legislation and support the government. Now we see … senators defying him,” she says.

“So this is a test for Peter Dutton.”

Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie says the concerns were related to digital ID laws and privacy.

“We want to make sure we get strong, robust laws that don’t damage privacy and make
compulsorily (sic) Australians having to have digital IDs,” she says.

“But we do want strong, robust laws to protect kids under 16 on social media platforms.”

Rishworth interjected: “Looks like you’re about to break a promise Bridget”.

“Please top interrupting me, Amanda,” she responded.

“We need to get
the legislation right so it does actually get the outcomes we want. And we need to make sure that those protections exist in the legislation.”

With just three parliament sitting days left in the year — and possibly Labor’s term, depending on when an election is called — the government is rushing to legislate its plan to ban under 16s from social media.

Independent Zoe Daniel says any crackdown on the social platforms must include an option to either reset or turn off the algorithm.

“There’s University of Melbourne research that says if you’re on a TikTok and have an eating disorder, you’re almost
4,000 per cent more likely to receive eating disorder content and 100 per cent more likely to receive diet content,” she told ABC’s News Breakfast. 

“And this goes to things like gambling abuse and all sorts of public health issues.

“The problem with the algorithm is that in many way, the compounds negative behaviour, and particularly for young people – that
can send young people into a real spiral.”

Daniel says she’s concerned the outright ban would result in teens not having the tools to “manage” the harms of social media.

She says she’s had constructive discussions with the Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and encourages the government to look at her private members bill for a model to implement, which “cherry picks” the best bits of legislation in place in the UK and Europe.

Welcome to our politics live blog. Courtney Gould from the ABC’s Parliament House team here to guide you through the morning.

Let’s get into it.