Program: Meta starts deleting accounts

Sabra Lane: Good morning, welcome to AM, I'm Sabra Lane, coming to you from Nipaluna, Hobart. Australia's world first social media ban for teens officially starts in a week, yet from today the company Meta will start deleting the first accounts belonging to under 16s on Instagram, Facebook and threads. National technology reporter Ange Lavoipierre joined me a short time ago. Ange, what will change today?

Ange Lavoipierre: Well, this is in practical terms day one of the ban that we've been waiting for for more than a year now. It's certainly the case that it is day one for many under 16s, particularly using Instagram. You might remember two weeks ago, Meta did start sending out these warnings on email and SMS and within its apps to let some of these users know that they are about to lose access. It's not everyone under 16, but it's the people there. They say they're very confident are under 16. Now they've had their two weeks warning and today the first of those accounts will start being removed. They haven't reached everyone yet. It's the beginning. More accounts will go every day between now and the 10th. And speaking yesterday at National Press Club, the communications minister, Annika Wells, said the government accepts that this is going to take time. It will be a slow process and that does seem to be the case. Meta didn't give us the number of accounts being removed today when we asked, but they did say in a statement that yes, it would be an ongoing process. We spoke to one of their younger users who does seem to have slipped through the net so far, a 15-year-old girl named Riley who lives in Melbourne. Now, she's actually a big believer in the ban, but she hasn't been flagged for removal yet on Instagram. Here's what she had to say.

Riley: Probably because it's sort of a thing these days before the ban actually was announced where people put their age in as two, three years sort of older than they are. And I did that when I started my Snapchat and my Instagram accounts. So that's possibly why I haven't received a notification from Meta. While I do think the ban is a great thing for young Australians, I don't have the full confidence in what these platforms will be doing to make sure it actually happens.

Ange Lavoipierre: And look, entering an earlier date of birth is hardly the most sophisticated dupe out there. We know that a lot of young people have done that. And the idea is that Meta will be able to detect at least some of those over time. Hopefully most of them is what they're saying. But then there are the young people who are actively trying to bypass this ban and will actively try. We spoke to a 15-year-old in Sydney named Jack who is significantly less supportive of the ban than Riley. And he told us that he's actually going to have ongoing access to some accounts that he would otherwise lose because, well, his parents are going to monitor them, suggesting that perhaps he's getting a bit of help there from parents. But beyond that, he's just not confident in the age checking systems either based on what he's seen.

Jack : I've been told by Instagram, I've been told by Snapchat, and I know from a perspective, I won't say really much, but I know that a lot of people have been getting around the Snapchat facial verification just because it thinks they're over 16. So it's not going to work.

Sabra Lane: Sydney teenager Jack and before him our reporter Ange Lavoipierre.

Sabra Lane: Staying on technology, the agency responsible for investigating complaints against big tech companies wants more powers to help customers deal in disputes. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman says there's been a rise in complaints with customers forced to deal with unhelpful chatbots and automated emails. The agency says those tech companies have the resources and the time to address these complaints, but don't. Political reporter Samantha Dick has the story.

Samantha Dick : Still being charged for subscriptions you swore you'd cancelled, locked out of your Instagram account for no reason, or in the case of Queensland business owner Alistair Hart, suspended from Facebook after a hacker posted disturbing content to his personal page.

Alistair Hart: Obviously I was concerned about the reputational impacts of having this stuff stuck on my Facebook page, you know, both in a professional context but also in a personal context.

Samantha Dick : When he tried to resolve the issue with social media giant Meta, Alistair Hart was sent in circles.

Alistair Hart: We're yet to restore access, you know, three and a half years later to our company Facebook pages which is, you know, professionally frustrating, limiting in terms of trade and economic growth and all that sort of stuff.

Christie Langham: I complained to Facebook and instead of help me, they suspended my account.

Samantha Dick : Perth woman Christy Langham was running as a candidate in the election for her local council when she was hacked and unexpectedly booted from her social media account.

Christie Langham: The loss of visibility on social media of course contributed significantly to my losing the election.

Samantha Dick : Between January 2023 and August of this year, Australia's telecommunications industry ombudsman received more than 1,500 complaints about the behaviour of digital platforms. Its latest report singles out tech companies Google, Apple, Microsoft, Hubble and Meta as some of the worst offenders driving complaints. The problem is the body doesn't have the power to investigate them.

Cynthia Gebert: So we would need new laws. So our powers at the moment currently only cover our phone and internet services.

Samantha Dick : Telecommunications industry ombudsman Cynthia Gebert says she wants the federal government to expand its jurisdiction to include digital platforms.

Cynthia Gebert: The ACCC a number of years ago through their digital inquiry identified the need for an independent ombudsman scheme. There continues to be consumer harm. There continues to be detriment experienced by Australians.

Alistair Hart: If I knew that there was an external resource outside of the Facebook whatever metaverse that I could appeal these outcomes to, I absolutely would.

Samantha Dick : For Alistair Hart, having access to an independent complaints body would have been a game changer. In the ombudsman's latest report, nearly 80% of complaints about digital platforms related to transactional disputes, while the others related to social harms such as misinformation and defensive content. Now a potential new risk is emerging with concerns some adults could be swept up in next week's rollout of Australia's social media ban for under 16s, which the federal government has admitted will be clunky.

Cynthia Gebert: There could be people who have been incorrectly locked out or who are unable to verify their ID. They might be 35 and unable to verify their age. At the moment it's going to be really tough.

Sabra Lane: Telecommunications industry ombudsman Cynthia Gabert ending that report by Samantha Dick and AM has contacted the Federal Communications Minister Annika Wells for comment.

Sabra Lane: Electricity prices are back in the headlines as the cost of the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy becomes a political football again. A new report from the Australian Energy Market Commission suggests prices could in fact fall 5 per cent during the next five years amid a surge in renewable power. But it warns there could be a sting in the tail from 2030. Energy reporter Daniel Mercer has the story.

Daniel Mercer: Power bills and how the energy transition affects them is a political live wire for voters and something Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has recently been keen to prosecute.

Sussan Ley: Of course the government is rushing the renewables rollout. The blowing out of costs for the poles and wires, for the transmission infrastructure, for turning the beautiful wind and sun into dispatchable power at the source where you need it is incredibly expensive. A

Daniel Mercer: new report from the Australian Energy Market Commission offers a somewhat different view. The commission, which sets the rules that govern the national electricity market covering Australia's eastern states, projects the prices consumers pay for a kilowatt hour of electricity will fall 5 per cent over the next five years. The reason? More renewable energy.

Anna Collier: We're looking at what is planned to be built over those five years and if we can achieve that deployment of renewables then that will bring down the wholesale price of electricity.

Daniel Mercer: Anna Collier is the Commission's Chair. She says another boon for consumers is the trend towards electrification, which involves households running everything from their cars to their cooktops on electricity rather than fossil fuels.

Anna Collier: So what they might spend today on electricity, gas and petrol, they can save up to 90 per cent if they're able to electrify.

Daniel Mercer: For all these upsides, Anna Collier acknowledges there are plenty of risks ahead. She says delays to renewable energy projects such as wind farms and high voltage power lines needed to connect them to the grid are threatening to push up prices. That's because such delays risk leaving Australia relying more heavily on ageing coal-fired power stations and expensive gas plants.

Anna Collier: What we're seeing there in the planning is that the renewables build-out is slowing, so the mix of assets is such that we are seeing demand met more often by expensive plants such as gas.

Daniel Mercer: Anna Collier concedes many households simply can't electrify because they don't have the money or they don't own their own home. It's a point that's echoed by Matt Rennie, who co-runs consultancy Rennie Partners.

Matt Rennie: The ability to install that kind of equipment and to take advantage of those technologies is very much in echoed, being distributed around Australia.

Daniel Mercer: Matt Rennie says the growing divide between those who can electrify their homes and those who can't is just one of many complexities at the heart of the transition. Another is the cost of the new electricity system, which he says will be higher than one running on coal, but for good environmental reasons.

Matt Rennie: It's a much more complicated system. Solar, wind, firmed by batteries and then hydro running overnight. It's just a more expensive way of going about it. That's something we shouldn't shy away from.

Sabra Lane: Consultant Matt Rennie ending that report by Daniel Mercer.

Sabra Lane: Every day, hundreds of calls for help to early intervention homelessness services are going unanswered. Many can't even get in the system until they're already sleeping rough. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has published new figures today showing the majority of those asking for help are women and children. Angus Randall reports.

Angus Randall: In the Northern Territory, Mission Australia provides emergency relief like food, clothing and counselling, not housing. But regional leader Dr Paul Royce says more people than ever are asking for help to keep a roof over their head.

Paul Royce: People are now coming to us saying we can't pay the rent, we don't have enough money to pay the electricity. We're actually seeing working people now coming in to access our services.

Angus Randall: Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show every day specialist homelessness services across the country are receiving around 350 requests for help they can't meet. With so many being turned away, people are not actually getting help until they're already homeless. Kate Colvin is the CEO of Homelessness Australia.

Kate Colvin: The number of staff hours just runs out. There's just not enough people to go around everyone who needs help. And one of the outcomes of that is that people then end up not seeking help until they're just at the most desperate point of need.

Angus Randall: Nearly four in five of those pleased for help come from women and children, many of whom are fleeing family violence.

Kate Colvin: This is ordinary families that just can't keep up with the rent and are squeezed out of the rental market into homelessness. But also it's about domestic and family violence because 40% of everyone being assisted by homeless services has experienced domestic and family violence.

Angus Randall: Kate Colvin says it's much harder and more expensive to help someone who's already homeless compared to when they were at risk of homelessness.

Kate Colvin: When someone comes to a homelessness service at risk of homelessness, services are able to prevent them becoming homeless in more than 80% of cases. But the problem is when people come to a service having already lost their home, there's not the social housing or accommodation available to help everyone.

Sabra Lane: Australia is boosting its financial support for Ukraine, giving an extra $95 million in military assistance. It's the biggest funding increase in more than a year. A large chunk of funding will go to a European arms buying program, with Australia and New Zealand the first non-NATO countries to contribute to it. The extra support is happening while peace talks flounder, as Stephanie Small reports.

Stephanie Smail : Despite talks involving Donald Trump's hand-picked peace envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and President Putin himself, Moscow isn't budging. NATO's Secretary-General Mark Rutte is urging Europe to stay strong in its support of Ukraine.

Mark Rutte: We have to continue the pressure on Russia, because we do not know whether the peace process will eventually lead to a successful outcome. If so, we all pray for it. That would be fantastic. And that means continuing the flow of weapons, continuing the economic pressure.

Stephanie Smail : In the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments that he'll fight Europe if necessary, Mark Rutte says the billions of dollars in military support pouring in for Ukraine are crucial. Australia is adding more to the war chest, offering an extra $95 million, which brings Canberra's total defence support to $1.7 billion since Moscow invaded in 2022.

Richard Marles: We will stay with Ukraine for as long as it takes for this conflict to be resolved on Ukraine's terms.

Stephanie Smail : Richard Marles is the Defence Minister.

Richard Marles: $50 million of this goes to NATO's Pearl Initiative. This is NATO encouraging a number of countries to contribute money so that essentially a new American kit can be purchased for Ukraine. And along with New Zealand, we are the first non-NATO countries to commit to this initiative and we're very pleased to be able to do that.

Stephanie Smail : The Federal Government will also impose sanctions on 45 Russian ships, adding to efforts by other countries including the United Kingdom and New Zealand. As the peace talks drag on, so does the war in Ukraine. But Professor Alexandra Chinchilla from Texas A&M University has told Deutsche Welle there's still hope.

Alexandra Chinchilla: This war is costly for Russia. If the White House can convince Russia that it is serious about continuing to support Ukraine and European efforts to support Ukraine, I think that will be the key piece that puts real pressure on Russia to potentially agree to a deal that is more aligned with a sustainable future for Europe and Ukraine.

Stephanie Smail : Professor Chinchilla explains the United States could reap big economic rewards from Russia in the process, which could cloud the push for peace. But she points out the talks aren't over yet. What

Alexandra Chinchilla: I worry about is if they get overly interested in the economic aspects of the cooperation without thinking about the security issues, which are equally as important. I actually see the failure of the talks today as a positive sign that maybe the Trump administration has taken that discussions with Ukraine and Europe seriously and is thinking about actually pushing for a deal that will be aligned with US and European shared security interests.

Sabra Lane: Professor Alexandra Chinchilla from Texas A&M University ending that report by Stephanie Smail.

Angus Randall: Homelessness Australia is calling for a national homelessness prevention fund that can step in before this happens. The proposed fund would pay for extra homelessness prevention staff and offer some small-scale financial assistance.

Kate Colvin: That would mean that when you go to a homelessness service, there's someone there with the sort of tenancy expertise, if your tenancy is at risk, to help negotiate with the landlord around that impending eviction and hopefully avoid it.

Angus Randall: Back in the Northern Territory, Dr Paul Royce is grateful for increased funding from the Territory and federal governments in the past year, but he says a lot more can be done.

Paul Royce: The system is still broken and one of the things that we are all trying to do is work together to come up with some solutions to make it better.

Angus Randall: This morning, Housing and Homelessness Minister Claire O'Neill announced the federal government had reached a $100 million milestone for funding new crisis, youth and transitional housing projects through the Housing Australia Future Fund.

Sabra Lane: Angus Randall, there.

Sabra Lane: You know the saying, to understand someone's experience you need to spend time in their shoes. A disability sporting program is doing just that, teaching students about how to live in a world that wasn't built for everyone. More now from National Disability Affairs reporter, Nas Campanella.

Nas Campanella: At Whitefriars College in Melbourne's outer suburbs, 180 boys are hitting the basketball court. This match is about more than just sport, they're doing it in wheelchairs. Leading the game is Peter Ogunyemi, a Paralympian who lost the use of his legs as a result of contracting polio as a child in Nigeria.

Peter Ogunyemi : Ever since then it's like it has been part of my life and I just roll with it. I'm proud of who I am.

Nas Campanella: It's that message he's sharing with high school students through a program called Wheel Talk. Run by Disability Sport and Recreation, the program aims to give non-disabled people a taste of disabled life. For Peter, that involves sharing his personal journey with his many sporting achievements and the challenges too.

Vincent Lacobaccio : No matter what happens in life, it's still your life.

Nas Campanella: Before the session, Year 7 student Vincent Lacabaccio admitted he didn't know much about disability, but says he's really keen to learn.

Vincent Lacobaccio : I think I'll go alright. I might airball a few shots because I rely on the power of my legs heavily, but it'll be worth a shot having a go.

Nas Campanella: His mate Spencer Jurowicz is also taking part.

Spencer Jurowicz : I reckon it would be quite hard just because you have to wheel a lot and use your arms and your coordination would have to be pretty good.

Nas Campanella: During the session, students learn to power the wheelchair, turn and pick up the ball. The school's principal is Mark Murphy.

Mark Murphy: We think it's very important here at Whitefriars for our boys to look beyond themselves and to learn that they live their life isn't necessarily the way that everyone does.

Nas Campanella: He says programs like this can help non-disabled students learn how to interact with disabled people.

Mark Murphy: People don't want sympathy and I think that's what Peter has done today. He doesn't want sympathy. He wasn't looking for that. He was wanting the boys to understand his world.

Nas Campanella: With the game over, Vincent and Spencer have learnt a lot.

Vincent Lacobaccio : I found it very fun, very challenging at the same time. I now appreciate how wheelchair players shoot and move around.

Spencer Jurowicz : It feels like I've just done a three hour workout. I've taken away that sometimes I take this sort of stuff like walking for granted.

Vincent Lacobaccio : Peter wants people to leave his sessions knowing that life with disability does throw up challenges, but it's every bit as enjoyable.

Peter Ogunyemi : When people think, oh it's so hard, I don't say that. All I say is I want to go out there and change life to the best of my ability.

Sabra Lane: Paralympian Peter Ogunyemi ending that report by Nas Campanella. And that's AM for today.