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SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Australia's social media ban is approaching, but questions remain over whether it will work
April Willis says young people need a seat at the table for figuring out how to implement the teen social media ban. Source: SBS News / Ash Minchin Like many, April Willis has been using social media since her early teens. As she grew up on the platforms, she says she didn't immediately understand the impact it was having on her. She says that in hindsight, though, she can see that a lot of her "behaviours" and "the content and interactions" she had on social media platforms were "definitely not great" for her mental health. But the now 22-year-old ReachOut youth advocate says she doesn't think a ban would have stopped her. "I think the hard truth is that a lot of us are thinking, 'I would've found a way around it', as I'm sure many young people will." Whether she actually would have is one of the many questions experts are wondering six months out from the implementation of Australia's social media ban for those under the age of 16. And as of 11 December this year, social media companies will be required to take "reasonable steps" to prevent Australian children and teenagers under 16 from using their platforms. A government-commissioned trial into the potential technologies used to assess the ages of users presented their preliminary findings on Friday. Their key finding was that "age assurance can be done in Australia and can be private, robust and effective". "The preliminary findings indicate that there are no significant technological barriers preventing the deployment of effective age assurance systems in Australia," project director Tony Allen said in a statement. "These solutions are technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services, and can support the safety and rights of children online." With details about the accuracy of the technologies tested left for later release, experts are wary of the trial's initial claim. Daniel Angus is a professor of digital communication at the Queensland University of Technology and the director of its Digital Media Research Centre. "One of the key concerns that we have is how the industry often will inflate their accuracy and the utility of these approaches when we know that there are still significant issues when it comes to both gender and also racial biases, but also the general lack of efficacy of these approaches," he said. According to the Department of Communications, a government-commissioned report from the Social Research Centre found nearly nine in 10 adults were supportive of age assurance measures. Only two of those 10 had heard of at least one potential method to check a person's age online. 'This research shows Australians widely support our world-leading age restrictions on social media for under 16s and have strong expectations of platforms when it comes to data protection and security," Communications Minister Anika Wells said in a statement. Angus says the general public has not been adequately informed about the likely impacts of these technologies. "I think Australians are in for a very rude shock when this actually perhaps, gets implemented, and they all of a sudden are being forced to hand over [their] data to access services that they've freely been able to access up to this point," he said. "It's absolutely everything you would expect to find in the midst of a moral panic where people have been sucked along with this idea that, 'Yeah, this thing is really, really bad and we need to prevent it,' but have not stopped to think critically about this, and then not been properly informed about the fullness of that risk." John Pane, chair of digital rights organisation Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), is a member of the stakeholder advisory board for the trial. He says the EFA has "concerns about the rollout of this technology because it's not simply about restricting access to social media platforms for children 15 and under". "It requires all adults who participate in the online environment, who wish to access social media platforms to either have their age authenticated or establish their identity as a means of, or part of that age authentication. "So from our perspective, it's the Trojan horse for getting people to get used to providing more and more credentials online." Amid these concerns, some remain supportive of the ban, including Kirra Pendergast, another member of the stakeholder advisory board. "Initially, I was only against the ban purely because of the technical workarounds that are possible for some kids who are more technical than others," she said. "But after having lots of conversations with parents in particular, it became abundantly clear that the ban was making parents have a conversation that we've needed to have for a very, very long time." Pendergast is the founder of Safe on Social, an online safety advisory group for schools and businesses, and chief digital safety strategist at the global Ctrl+Shft Coalition. "I get contacted almost every single day by parents that are struggling with this," the cybersecurity expert said. "They don't know how to say no." Pendergast said parents and educators would have "a lot more time to get it right". "It's like all aspects of technical security, cybersecurity, and cyber safety. It's never ever going to be 100 per cent. This is never going to be the silver bullet. "It's a really, really good start because, again, it sparked all of the conversations that we needed to have at every level of society." Professor Tama Leaver, an internet studies academic at Curtin University and the chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, says the ban responds to a "very real fear that parents have that social media is an unknown space". "If this is world-leading, we need to be quite clear on what the legislation is actually doing." He warned that the implementation of the policy may not address all the issues that have been discussed. "Some harms, for example, such as cyberbullying, were very much touted as one of the big problems to be solved," he said. "There is nothing in this legislation that addresses cyberbullying meaningfully at all. "This at best addresses algorithmic amplification … of young people's experiences of social media, but … we expect from what's been said already that most messaging apps are exempt from this legislation. "So, the spaces where we imagine cyberbullying is most likely to happen are not being touched by this legislation at all." Leaver was a signatory on an open letter from more than 140 academics and civil society organisations against the ban. "If the rest of the world is watching Australia and hoping that this might be a blueprint, we're going to have an awful lot of work to do in the next few months to actually have a blueprint to practically do this rather than simply aspire to giving parents some reassurance," he said.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
SBS News In Easy English 20 June 2025
Welcome to SBS News Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan. The White House says United States President Donald Trump will decide within the next two weeks whether to strike Iran. Although, it also confirmed Mr Trump still sees a "substantial" chance that negotiations can achieve U-S and Israeli demands on Iran's nuclear program. White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Mr Trump has warned Iran to immediately shut down its nuclear enrichment operations and any other potential for producing nuclear weapons. Reporter:" What makes him think there's still a substantial change, is my question." Karoline Leavitt: "I'm not going to get into the reasoning and the rationale. The president believes that, but that's his position, and he will a decision within next two weeks." Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Iran's capital and ordered the departure of all Australian officials, due to the deteriorating security environment. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia's ambassador to Iran will remain in the region to support the government's response to the crisis. Evacuation of Australians from Israel and Iran organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are underway. Around 1,200 Australians in Israel are seeking to leave, while 2,000 Australians in Iran have registered for assistance. Australian Yigal Kedam in Tel Aviv told SBS News he is grateful to be leaving the country now. "With the borders closing, the airport closing, basically we have had to look for other options to get home, and I have to say the Australian embassy has been really, really helpful in providing the options that we are now here for." Australian universities have dropped in the latest world universities rankings list. The report measures student experience, global partnerships, research opportunities and the quality of teaching. The University of Melbourne retained its position as the top-rated Australian institution, but it dropped six places against overseas educational facilities - from 13th to 19th in the world. The University of New South Wales dropped one place to 20th, while Sydney University fell seven spots to rank 25th. Despite the drop in rankings, Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson says the results remained impressive, with about a quarter of Australia's 40 universities listed in the world's top 200. Thousands of people have gathered at Victoria's Parliament House to greet the state's truth-telling commissioner Travis Lovett, as he completed his 508-kilometre walk across the state. More than 12,000 people joined the Aboriginal leader along the 25-day Walk for Truth from Portland in the state's West to Melbourne. The walk marks the end of Australia's first formal truth-telling process of the impacts of colonisation on First Nations Australians. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's four-year long inquiry will formally conclude at the end of the month, and the thousands of hours of evidence collected from Aboriginal Victorians will contribute to an official public record. Levi Power, a member of the First People's Assembly of Victoria says it's a significant chance for change. "We must have these truths told to guide these decisions and to guide our journey forward, not only for this first treaty but going into the future as well." New Zealand has paused almost $17 million in funding to the Cook Islands. New Zealand has criticised the Cook Islands for a lack of transparency over deals made with China. It says China needs to restore trust before New Zealand signs off any new funding. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who's visiting China and will have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, is demanding answers. "The Cook Islands Government, as we have been very open from the beginning, the beginning of this year, was not transparent and open about it's international agreement that it did, in this case, with China, through the comprehensive strategic partnership. We want to make sure that any risks are well managed, we have obligations under the agreements, as New Zealand, with a realm country that need to be upheld and as a result that transparency is really important. As a result, we've suspended some of the aid money until we can get clarity on those issues." Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 per cent in May. The data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows around 2,500 jobs were lost from the economy, despite forecasts that 20,000 jobs would be gained after 89,000 jobs were created in April. But employment was still up by 2.3 per cent compared with this time last year, which was stronger than pre-pandemic levels. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth, says the full-time employment data reflects a resilient jobs market. "It is encouraging that we have continued to see strong full-time jobs growth, with this month recording more than 38,000 full-time jobs. And full-time employment remains at a record high." Thanks for listening. This is SBS News in Easy English.
SBS Australia
5 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
When Australia 'couldn't help', Ron took leaving Israel into his own hands
Ron Gelberg arrived in Israel shortly before the Israel-Iran conflict erupted. Source: SBS News Nearly 2,000 Australians want to leave Israel and Iran as the conflict between the two countries continues to intensify, with family members fretting and some abroad taking matters into their own hands to leave. As speculation grows that the United States is preparing to enter the conflict, more than 1,000 Australians have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for help to leave Israel. A further 870 Australians and family members want to leave Iran, after Friday's escalation in the conflict with Israel attempting to wipe out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran's airspace, and Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion International, are both closed "until further notice". Ron Gelberg arrived in Israel shortly before the conflict escalated and had planned to holiday there as part of an international trip. The Australian had been staying put at his hotel, where he and other guests had been sent to its bomb shelter on several occasions, and while he felt relatively safe there, he wanted to return home. Gelberg, who was in Israel's capital Tel Aviv, told SBS News on Monday he had called Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) which he said couldn't do much to help because there were no scheduled repatriation flights. "So I took matters into my own hands," he said. Gelberg said he had paid a driver who would take him across the border into Jordan and fly from there to Denmark and then on to Australia. He said he would have preferred to have been repatriated from Tel Aviv. He acknowledged the difficulties the Australian government may face in organising such flights amid missile fire, but believed they could have offered assistance getting to Jordan and repatriating from there. Meanwhile, Asal (not her real name) is helplessly watching from Melbourne as missiles fall around her mother's home in Iran. A brief phone call each day is the only contact she can make with the eighty-year-old, who has now fled north of the capital. "My mum is quite a strong woman. All my life, I never … heard her being that vulnerable," she told SBS News. "But I could see her voice was shaking." The journey to what Asal called a "safer city where there are not many military bases" took her mother more than 12 hours, with traffic gridlocked for hundreds of kilometres out of Iran's capital, Tehran. Many of the Iranian capital's nearly 10 million residents have either left the city or taken shelter indoors as Israeli airstrikes continue to pound major cities across the country for six consecutive days. "It's pretty much everywhere being bombed now," Asal said. Iranian officials said at least 224 people have been killed, mostly civilians, and another 1,200 injured in the recent strikes. Israel says 24 civilians have been killed in attacks by Iran. Kambiz Razamara, who is the vice-president of the Australian Iranian Society of Victoria, said the difficulty in getting hold of people in Iran had exacerbated the worry many in the community were feeling. While his own family has been confirmed as safe after the bombing attacks, he was concerned about an escalation of violence in the region. "A big part of my family is near where the main nuclear reactors are, and if the reactors are bombed, then my whole family is exposed," he said. "People are trying to reach people, but you can't contact people online and you can't call." Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Australian government was examining options for those who want to return, but evacuations were proving difficult due to airspace being closed. "We're obviously working very closely with those Australians via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday. "We're monitoring developments in that very dangerous part of the world very closely. The treasurer said Australia and other countries were examining US President Donald Trump's statement about the conflict. The president has demanded Iran unconditionally surrender . "The US President has signalled that he wants a deal. I think there's a broad, there is broad international support for a return to dialogue and diplomacy," Chalmers said. "It's a perilous place, the Middle East right now, it's a perilous time for the global economy." DFAT is asking anyone in the region who wants to return home to register with the government's Smartraveller website. Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran , on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran's nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment. Before Israel's attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. With reporting by the Australian Associated Press and Reuters news agencies.
SBS Australia
7 days ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
Sport pathway to social connection for people with disability
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . When Mark Stephenson was diagnosed with Young Onset Lewy Body Dementia a year after also being diagnosed with Parkinson disease, his 32-year career as a professional firefighter came to an abrupt end. "That's what the doctor told me was, unfortunately, you won't be able to do your job anymore and you can't drive home. My full professional career on the fire trucks, plus training and all that stopped in an instant. Plus my love was riding motorbikes as well, so that stopped in the instance as well. So that was a bit difficult to deal with as far as your world, which was big, became very small." Lewy Body Dementia is a brain disorder that can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behaviour and mood. It's a progressive illness, meaning it worsens over time, and common symptoms can include visual hallucinations, memory problems, sleep disorders and declining muscle strength and mobility. Mr Stephenson, who was in his mid-50s when he was diagnosed, says the loss of his career left him feeling directionless. "I made endless phone calls to charities or to people who feed the homeless or to do some form of sport and was knocked back at every occasion. And that was more hard to cope with than the initial loss, I think, because then it was like, okay, I can't volunteer anywhere because I'm too big a risk. And when you keep getting doors closed in your face after the first big loss, and it was like, oh, what do I do? And then I just basically gave up on trying." When Mr Stephenson stumbled across a Facebook post from an organisation called Sporting Wheelies encouraging people with disability to get involved in sport, he initially feared he'd once again be rejected. With a gentle push from his wife, he decided to give wheelchair cricket a try. " So, I went down and tried with cricket and yeah, it was very, after having so much rejection, it was very weird to walk into a place. It was very accepting. And then to look around and realise that there was people with all different abilities and disabilities. They were all there playing sport. And once you hopped in the chair, no one really saw the chair. You were just people playing sport." More than 1 in 5 Australians have disability - which accounts for around 5.5 million people. Sporting Wheelies Chief Operating Officer, Dane Cross says only a relatively small number of people with disability currently play sport, despite most having an interest in becoming involved. "25 per cent of people with disability currently participate in sports, so one in four. But what we also know is three in four or 75 per cent want to participate, but so there's a gap there in I guess the sporting environment is that people want to play but currently face barriers and are unable to play." He says the cost of adaptive equipment like wheelchairs and other supports can be prohibitive, and many clubs and community sports organisations aren't well equipped to make sports accessible. "What we do know is that there aren't currently enough opportunities for people with disability to be participating in sport. Currently, the sporting environment is not entirely inclusive and so mainstream sports are not that suitable for all people." According the Mr Cross it's not just physical barriers that dissuade people with disability from becoming involved in sports. "There's actually a gap in the attitudes and the stereotypes that exist in the space where people with disability aren't necessarily seen as athletes. And so attitudes, community attitudes, community sports club attitudes are required to change, to adapt, to enable more people to participate." Sport4All is another organisation working to shift public perception around disability and sport, and facilitate more inclusive environments. The organisation works with community sport clubs and schools to provide support, training and practical tools to make sport more welcoming. Sport4All National Manager Carl Partridge says a significant part of his organisation's work is tackling a lack of understanding around the many forms disability can take. "You've got to remember that only a relatively small proportion of people have a disability that you can see. But it comes into things like financial limitations, community attitudes, many programs are designed, aren't really designed with inclusion in minds so people are unintentionally excluded." Mr Partridge says more programs are needed to bridge the gap that currently exists between people with disability who want to participate in sport, and those who are currently involved in sports. He says through making sports more welcoming, programs like Sport4All and Sporting Wheelies are showing just how diverse the benefits of sport can be. "Well, I think the benefits are so much more than just the physical health benefits. I think people think about sports physically, but for people with disability, there's other layers to as well. It's a gateway to social connection. It builds confidence, independence, but it also builds that massive sense of belonging." A 2019 study by Paralympics Australia found one in four people with disability identify social interaction as one of the top two benefits of getting involved in sport. This is true for Mr Stephenson, who is now involved in cricket, AFL and basketball through Sporting Wheelies. He says through sport, he's rediscovered a sense of purpose, belonging, and community."You find that new social network. I think that's really important for mental health as well. Having that community there. It's reason to keep engaged in living, which is good. Everyone says I'm happy, so that's good."
1News
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 1News
First Kiwi to take out Alone — 76 days, 1100 worms, 25% less body weight
On a pouring night, days since his last meal, Shay Williamson stepped out of his tarpaulin teepee somewhere in the Tasmanian wilds, and caught a pademelon – a small, wallaby-like marsupial – with his bare hands. It would have been unbelievable if he didn't capture the entire thing on camera, as part of his winning turn on the third season of hit reality survival show Alone Australia. The Bay of Plenty possum-trapper and outdoor YouTuber, 30, toughed out the Tasmanian winter for 76 days to become the first Kiwi to win any season in the Alone franchise. In Alone, 10 contestants are dropped in remote wilderness, dozens of kilometres away from each other, with a handful of essential items. There are no film crews; instead, competitors also have 70kg of camera gear with them to self-document their experience. ADVERTISEMENT Unlike most reality shows, the only challenge is to survive as long as possible, and the only way contestants are eliminated is if they choose to 'tap out', or are deemed unfit to carry on during periodic medical checks. The last person remaining wins a cash prize of AU$250,000 (about NZ$270,000) – and a boat ride back to civilisation. Williamson went in thinking his trapping skills would be one of his strengths. But contestants have to live-trap their prey to avoid killing protected species, and none of the elaborate traps Williamson constructed in the early weeks worked (except for a notable moment when he managed to catch himself). In the end, he caught the pademelon using a method that had worked for him since he was a kid. 'They're a lot easier to sneak up on when it's raining… because their ears are pinned down and they're a lot less alert. I used to catch rabbits like that back home when I was a kid on rainy nights,' he said. Shay caught a pademelon in the final days of Alone Australia season 3. (Source: SBS News) ADVERTISEMENT 'And so that's what I did – I just went outside and it was out there and it pretty much just walked right up to me and I reached out and grabbed it.' In other seasons of Alone, catching large prey would have been a game-changer. But by the time he caught the pademelon, Williamson had already survived for 67 days, equalling the previous record set on the Australian franchise by season one winner Gina Chick. He tried to trap and fish from day one, but for the first three weeks his diet consisted of something much less appetising: worms. 'You're pretty desperate for food right from the get go – well, I was,' he said. 'I was just going to eat whatever I could find and I knew it wouldn't necessarily be what you want to be eating – but if it's food, it's food, and you kind of have to have that approach out there. 'You're not necessarily gonna find the romantic sort of survival food that everyone thinks about – worms might be the only option. So that's what I had at the time, so I ate as many as I could find.' ADVERTISEMENT The West Coast Ranges of Tasmania experienced near-record rainfall while the season was underway last winter, forcing Williamson and several other remaining contestants to relocate their shelters six weeks into filming as the lake they were bordering rose and rose. The rain and lake levels were depicted as a constant threat, but for Williamson it proved to be an advantage. 'I was fishing from the first day, but I just didn't have any luck for those first three weeks,' he said. 'Once the lake started to rise, it brought a heap of fish to my area. 'The rainy nights were actually the best fishing for me, just because the lake would be rising and there'd be more worms on the edge of the lake so there'd be fish feeding on them at night. 'The more terrible the weather, I'd be out in it.' Williamson ended up catching 23 fish, 14 eels and over 1000 worms during his 11 weeks in isolation. ADVERTISEMENT Apart from the constant challenge of feeding himself - he lost about 25 percent of his body weight – the hardest part of Alone was missing his young family back in New Zealand. Williamson and his partner Abby have two daughters, 4 and 2, 'and another one on the way'. 'I thought about just normal tasks back home like taking the kids somewhere for the day, or having fish and chips on the beach. When I was out there sitting in my little teepee that sounded like paradise.' He often addressed the camera as 'we' or 'team' – something that 'just sort of happened naturally'. Bay of Plenty possum-trapper and outdoor YouTuber Shay Williamson. (Source: SBS Australia) 'I was trying to use the family as motivation when I was out there and that was my reason for staying, I guess, when things weren't going too well,' he said. 'So I was just basically pretending like I was talking to the family when I was talking to the camera. I don't know if it was a real conscious decision.' ADVERTISEMENT On the show, Williamson also talked about the bedtime story he would tell his oldest daughter when he returned, in her favourite structure: a member of the family being in some kind of trouble, before another family member arrived to save the day. It was partner Abby who 'saved' him: sneaking up to tap him on the shoulder to let him know he was the last person remaining. Now the show has aired, his daughter has been able to watch what her dad got up to. 'She seems to think that's pretty cool. She talks a lot about living in the bush now and her little tree house in the bush and stuff like that.' As for the prize money, that will go towards paying off the mortgage, 'which is a massive weight off the shoulders'. 'I won't be splashing out on a brand-new ute or anything.' In the meantime, life has largely returned to normal: the days are a mix of family life, trapping and filming for his YouTube channel, Keeping it Wild. ADVERTISEMENT While the prize money was a big motivator, Williamson said his main reason for wanting to go on Alone was to put a lifetime of bushcraft and outdoor skills to the test. 'I've been obsessed with that since I was a kid, so I guess it was validation,' he said. 'It was an opportunity, I guess, to see if all that time in the bush mucking around, doing weird stuff, actually paid off in the end.' Alone Australia is streaming on TVNZ+
