> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theculturereport.press/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # We Support Senator Raff Ciccone's Call for an Inquiry into the Online Radicalisation of Australian Children - URL: https://www.theculturereport.press/senator-ciccone-inquiry-online-radicalisation-children/ - Published: 2026-09-20T05:34:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-20T05:34:58.000Z - Description: Children as young as 10 are appearing in Australia's countering violent extremism programs. Why Darryn Keneally supports Senator Raff Ciccone's call for an inquiry, and how we reach young people before they are radicalised. - Author: Darryn Keneally For generations, parents worried about who their children were spending time with. Who are their friends? Where are they going? Who is influencing them? Today, we need to ask another question: **Who are they talking to online?** That person may not live down the street. They may not even live in Australia. They could be communicating with a child through a gaming platform, social media account, online community or encrypted messaging service. That is why I support Victorian Senator Raff Ciccone, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, in his call for greater parliamentary examination of the online radicalisation of Australian children and young people. I commend Senator Ciccone for putting this issue on the national agenda. This shouldn’t be about Labor, Liberal, conservative or progressive politics. It is about protecting children. ## Children are appearing in the system at alarming ages Australian authorities have been warning about the changing age profile of people becoming involved in violent extremism. > In March 2026, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that 31 per cent of people in Australia’s countering violent extremism programs were under 18, including 8 per cent aged between 10 and 14. Those figures should concern every parent, teacher, youth worker, pastor and community leader. We are talking about children. ## The front door has changed When we hear the word “radicalisation”, many of us probably imagine someone deliberately seeking out an extremist organisation. The digital world makes the pathway potentially much more complicated. It can begin somewhere entirely ordinary: a game, a video, a social-media post, an online discussion or content recommended by an algorithm. That doesn’t mean gaming causes radicalisation. It doesn’t mean social media causes terrorism. Millions of Australian children use these technologies safely every day. The question Senator Ciccone is raising is much more important: How can a vulnerable young person move from ordinary online engagement into increasingly extreme online communities — and what can we do to interrupt that journey before it results in harm? That question deserves serious investigation. ## Understand the journey, not simply punish the destination Australia needs strong intelligence and law-enforcement agencies capable of responding to genuine threats. But law enforcement generally becomes involved towards the end of the story. We should be just as interested in the beginning. What makes a 12, 14 or 16-year-old susceptible to extremist ideas? Is it loneliness or isolation? Is it a desire for identity, meaning and belonging? Is somebody deliberately grooming them? Are algorithms repeatedly directing them towards more extreme material? Are they moving from mainstream platforms into closed or encrypted communities? There probably isn’t one answer. That is precisely why Senator Ciccone’s call for an inquiry deserves support. ## Parents cannot do this alone It is easy to say parents should monitor their children’s internet use. Of course parents have responsibilities. But we also need to recognise the scale and sophistication of the digital environment confronting families. A parent may see their child sitting safely in their bedroom playing a computer game. Physically, that child is at home. Digitally, they could be anywhere in the world. The response cannot simply be banning technology or frightening parents. We need better digital literacy, practical resources for families, education for teachers and youth workers, appropriate intervention programs, responsible behaviour from technology companies and clear pathways for seeking help when someone becomes concerned about a young person. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/22/50/22503112-0066-4b2c-9245-993b43bf5fec/content/images/2026/09/91ea4b5b-f663-4413-ae39-437c81378400.png) ## Churches and community organisations should be part of the conversation Government cannot solve this problem alone. Schools, sporting clubs, churches, youth organisations, mentoring organisations and community groups collectively have contact with millions of Australian children and young people. These organisations can provide something extremely important: **Belonging.** If isolation, identity and belonging are among the factors that can make some young people vulnerable to manipulation, healthy communities may also form part of the protective environment around them. People working with children should be equipped to recognise concerning changes and know where to seek professional assistance. But we must also avoid treating every troubled teenager as a potential extremist. ## Protect children without criminalising childhood This distinction is extremely important. A teenager exploring controversial ideas is not necessarily being radicalised. A young person questioning authority is not an extremist. A strongly held religious or political belief is not, by itself, evidence of radicalisation. Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, political communication and expression are fundamental features of a democratic society. The concern should be the progression towards violence, coercion, hatred and genuine harm. Any parliamentary examination should therefore consider both sides of the equation: how Australia protects vulnerable children from extremist recruitment while protecting legitimate freedom of belief and expression. ## Technology is moving faster than our institutions Artificial intelligence adds another dimension. Deepfakes, AI-generated propaganda, automated accounts, personalised algorithms and increasingly convincing digital relationships will make it harder for parents — and potentially young people themselves — to determine who or what is influencing them. The technology will continue changing. Our safeguarding response therefore has to change with it. ## I support Senator Ciccone’s call Senator Raff Ciccone is right to put this issue before the Australian community. A serious parliamentary inquiry could bring together ASIO, the AFP, eSafety, technology and gaming companies, academics, child-safety experts, schools, parents, faith communities, youth organisations and, importantly, young people themselves. It should be evidence-based. It should be bipartisan. It should protect civil liberties. And it should remain relentlessly focused on preventing harm to children. If Australian authorities are encountering children as young as 10 in countering violent extremism programs, then we need to understand how they are getting there. I support Senator Ciccone’s efforts to bring greater parliamentary attention to this issue and his call for an inquiry. Because ultimately the most important question isn’t: How do we deal with a radicalised child? It is **How do we reach that child before they become radicalised?** **That is a question worth asking.** **And it is an inquiry worth having.**