The Australian Federal Police will headquarter its Internet child porn fighting unit, the Online Child Sex Exploitation Team, in Robina on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The new facility was launched officially March 1 by Justice Minister and Member of Parliament Sen. Chris Ellison, who said the launch joined new laws taking effect the same day that lay heavy fines on Internet service providers who do not remove or report child porn and other “inappropriate” material when they become aware of it.
“We’ve achieved a balance which we think is appropriate,” Ellison said at the OCSET headquarters launch.
"We've had a transition time for the industry to become acquainted with their new requirements and obligations, we're happy with that we'll have continuing ongoing consultation with them,” he continued. “Quite frankly this requires a partnership across the board, industry, government and indeed the public."
The OCSET headquarters launch came over a week after those new laws were announced as part of Australia’s continuing crackdown against Internet child porn. ISPs and content hosts could be fined $11,000 for individuals or $55,000 for businesses if they fail to report found child porn to the AFP. The new laws also provide ten years in prison for anyone using the Net to access, send, or make child porn available.
"It can not be emphasised enough,” Ellison said when the laws were passed, “that behind every horrid piece of child pornography is a tragic case of an abused defenceless child, somewhere in the world."
