Anthony Albanese will ban deepfake and AI pornography as part of a $925 million bid to combat the shocking rise in violence against women.
The Prime Minister called a National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday following a rise in women allegedly murdered by men they knew since early 2024.
Immediately following the meeting with the nation’s state and territory leaders, Albanese announced a set of new measures to reduce violence, which he described as a “scourge” on society.
Albanese highlighted community concerns about “toxic male views online” and young men’s “exposure to violent images” on the internet.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday after a rise in the number of women allegedly murdered by men they knew since the beginning of the year.
To combat this problem, Albanese will “introduce legislation to prohibit the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography.”
“Sharing sexually explicit material using artificial intelligence will also be subject to serious criminal penalties,” he added.
Twenty-seven women have already been murdered across Australia this year, and men known to them have been charged or arrested in connection with their deaths.
The alarming increase in suspected domestic violence deaths in 2024 has sparked nationwide demonstrations and protests.
‘A woman every four days. In fact, this is a national crisis,” said Mr Albanese.
‘Violence against women is not a women’s problem that we should solve. It is a problem that the entire society must solve. “Men in particular have to take responsibility.”
The Labor government has faced intense scrutiny over the past month following a war of words with billionaire X owner Elon Musk as it seeks to crack down on online content.
Albanese, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland on Wednesday attempted to justify recently announced legislation around deepfakes and artificial intelligence.
“The content that digital platforms deliver through algorithms and systems, particularly to young Australians, has an impact on reinforcing harmful and outdated gender norms,” Ms Rowland said.
He said violent pornography is serving to “normalize gender-based violence” and that digital platforms “must ensure that community standards are respected both online and offline.”
Ms Rishworth added that violence against women will only end with generational change, and that young boys need “positive role models” to “counter negative stereotypes”.
Albanese, along with Rishworth, announced an exit from violence programme, which will receive $925 million in funding in the May budget.
Eligible women will be able to access up to $5,000 in financial support to leave abusive relationships.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that all levels of government must address domestic violence differently
Molly Ticehurst (pictured) was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings in the central western New South Wales town of Forbes.
Albanese also addressed the controversy surrounding her attendance at a women’s rally over the weekend.
He has faced major backlash since Sunday after footage emerged of him saying: “Do you want me to talk or not?” I am the Prime Minister.’
Albanese told the crowd that he had initially been asked not to speak, prompting rally organizer Sarah Williams to say it was “a blatant lie” as she began to cry.
But in a longer video taken before Albanese spoke to the crowd, Williams can be heard saying he did not want politicians, including the Prime Minister, to address the protest.
On Wednesday, Albanese gave his deepest response yet, telling the audience: “I was happy to talk, happy not to talk, the video above clearly indicates what the opinion was on whether it was appropriate or not.”
‘This is a really serious problem. We are talking about a woman who dies at the hands of her partner every four days.
‘This is not about me. I attended a rally, I was proud to do so, I think as a national leader it is appropriate for me to do so. And I maintain it.
‘If you look at the pictures, I congratulated the organizers of the rally there and said very positive things. I wish the best to everyone who organized this. “It was a very good thing.”