The NSW Coalition will establish an advisory panel to investigate ways to ban convicted sex offenders from internet chat rooms and social networking web sites like MySpace, Shadow Attorney General Greg Smith SC and Shadow Youth Affairs Minister Mike Baird announced today. 

"Chat rooms and social networking websites like MySpace are a hugely popular forum for children and teenagers. Unfortunately they can also attract those who are seeking to do harm to our young people," Mr Smith said.

"About 3 million Australians, the majority between the ages of 14 and 25 use MySpace, and we urgently need to send a strong message that we are prepared to do whatever we can to insulate our children using these services from convicted sex offenders," he said.

"If legislation is required to ensure children and young people logging-on to chat with friends will not be at risk, then all stakeholders need to create a system that will work."
 
Popular social networking website MySpace recently highlighted the potential scope of the risk to young people when it struck 7,000 sex offenders from its service in the United States.

Several bills are before the US Congress seeking to place a check on the internet activity of known sex offenders and recently a 13-year-old girl in NSW was allegedly raped by a man she first met over the internet.

Mr Baird said an issue with such serious ramifications for child safety should not simply be cast into the too-hard basket.

"When an issue is as important as keeping our kids safe, it is above politics," Mr Baird said.

"It would be naive to think convicted sex offenders in Australia aren't using chat rooms and similar internet sites for devious purposes," he said.

"What this advisory group will do is investigate ways to protect our kids from any convicted sex offenders using the internet as a mean to re-offend."

"As a parent of three young children I have expressed concerns over who my kids are communicating with over the internet."

"People are not always who they say they are and our proposal would be an important step towards greater internet safety for NSW families."

"The advisory panel will be seeking representatives from the Information Technology industry, NSW Police Force and child protection groups."

"Every parent would expect the State Government to be doing everything in its power to prevent convicted sex offenders from using internet websites to lure our children into dangerous situations," Mr Baird said.