The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie this morning Friday November 8 to congratulate Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli after the announcement yesterday in Canberra that the Government will raising the minimum age when children are able to use social media to 16. Wippa partnered with the CEO of production company FINCH, Rob Galluzzo to create the campaign 36 Months to change the current legislation from 13 to 16.
Main photo: Wippa and the 36 Months team at Parliament House yesterday after the PM’s announcement
Wippa said:
“Yesterday was a really significant day in Canberra, thanks to the Prime Minister who confirmed that there would be a rise in the age that kids can join social media from 13 to 16, or as we have been campaigning for, 36 Months. It was an emotional day, because it didn’t feel like a moment of celebration, but more a moment of relief. We were there with Matt and Kelly, who had lost their daughter Charlotte, and also Rob Evans, who was there with his daughter Liv in spirit. So there was a heavy feeling within the room. For the families that were there and everybody involved, and the 225,000 parents that had signed this petition, it came as such a large relief to so many families, and it ensured a better a better opportunity for our kids and a healthy place for our kids to grow up.”
Anthony Albanese said:
“Parents are talking about these issues, and we want to get young people off their devices wherever possible and into actually interacting with each other as humans and talking with each other and engaging and playing with each other and having fun with each other.
One of the things that I want to make sure is that there’s uniformity here. I don’t want any different rules operating in different states. I want there to be uniformity and for there to be agreement, and then for us to continue to work on this…it will allow for a minimum 12 month implementation period, but we will establish the law which will mean that platforms will have to meet these requirements under the law, the onus won’t be on parents, and we think that’s important. I noticed there’s some pushback from some of the platforms this morning. We expect that, but guess what? They in social media need a social life. Social licenses come from society’s values. I make no apologies for asserting Australian values here.”
You can listen to the whole conversation above. Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie can be heard from 6am to 9am on Nova 96.9 in Sydney and nationally on the Nova Network from 5am.
The Prime Minister has also committed to ban hidden and sneaky ticket printing fees, handling fees and booking fees, a result of the investigation by Four Corners into multinational entertainment company Live Nation.