STUDENTS SAY IT SAFELY AT ST PAUL’S
THE HON GREG COMBET AM MP
Federal Member for Charlton
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Minister for Industry and Innovation
MEDIA RELEASE
19 March 2012
It’s not often school children tell the Government what to do, but that’s exactly what students at St Paul’s High School, Booragul, will do this week.
St Paul’s will take part in the 2012 Youth Advisory Group on Cybersafety (YAG), a program that helps the Government find out about the issues facing young people, and the best ways to communicate with them about online safety.
“It’s great that St Paul’s High School has nominated to take part in this program,” Member for Charlton, Greg Combet, said.
“Students will be talking to the Government via a secure online website using a range of methods including blogs, discussion forums, quizzes and polls.”
“This feedback informs the Government’s approach to cybersafety, so we can teach kids to be safe whilst they’re online.”
The YAG will involve around 3,000 primary and secondary students from up to 400 schools.
Online consultations will be held with students from each state and territory over a two-week period, with St Paul’s High School taking part in the first online consultation sphere this week (19-30 March).
The YAG will build on past successes like the Easy Guide to Socialising Online, which provides cybersafety information about 26 different social networking sites, search engines and online games - and has over 60,000 hits since it was launched in January 2012.
The YAG has also contributed to the development of the Cybersafety Help Button, which provides easy online access to cybersafety information and assistance available in Australia. The button has been downloaded to around 300,000 devices and is now accessible on personal computers, laptops, blackberry, windows 7, Android mobile phones, and internet explorer, Mozilla and safari extensions.
For more information on the government’s cybersafety plan visit: www.dbcde.gov.au/cybersafetyplan.
To learn how to socialise safely online visit: www.dbcde.gov.au/easyguide.