Anika Wells

In one week, Australia will become the first country in the world to ban under-16s from having social media accounts.

With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as behavioural cocaine.

Teenage addiction was not a bug, it was a design feature.

And on 10 December, there are going to be withdrawal symptoms.

Teenagers will be upset.

Some will fight to get back on.

Some will manage to find their way around the tech and keep their accounts.

But I truly believe the short-term discomfort will be worth the long-term benefits.

Every single parent who has talked to me about this since I've been the Minister for Communications has said, thank you, do not back down.

And thank you for being the bad guy.

Thank you for allowing me not to be the bad guy.

Thank you for allowing me to say, this is against the law.

The government has made this law.

So I asked them to draw strength.

They ask them to ask their child to write to me, if that would be of any assistance.

I do video messages to transmit this message, whatever it takes.

But I do not, for a second, think that this isn't worth doing.