Media release - Albanese Labor Government’s post and boast failure is a national safety issue

Melissa McIntosh MP
Shadow Minister for Communications
Shadow Minister for Western Sydney
Federal Member for Lindsay

19 March 2025

Albanese Labor Government’s post and boast failure is a national safety issue

Tackling youth crime and implementing laws against posting and boasting the acts of crimes online would be a priority of a Dutton Coalition Government. Across Australia, six jurisdictions have joined the Coalition in moving to implement much-needed post and boast laws.

Extraordinarily, the Albanese Labor Government has not taken a strong stand on this issue, instead leaving it in the too hard basket, whilst youth crime escalates across the country. 

Media outlets this week have highlighted the rise in youth crime, including the NSW Police Force’s crackdown on those contravening the state’s post and boast laws, targeting those who wish to glorify their offences online. The NSW Police Force are looking to hold crisis meetings with social media platforms and the e-Safety Commissioner to assist in shutting down criminal activity being posted online.

Figures have revealed as much as a 1,600 per cent rise in youth crime in certain country towns and urban areas across Australia in recent years. There has also been a 32 per cent increase for youth in custody in NSW since 2023.

Twelve months ago, the Coalition made a strong commitment to target people who wish to gain notoriety online by streaming or posting criminal activity, by introducing a bill to Parliament which sought to impose jail terms and provide stronger social media take-down powers. Under planned federal laws, a person could be jailed for up to two years for depicting violence, drug offences or property offences for the purpose of increasing a person’s notoriety.

Courts would be able to make an order to prohibit a person convicted of the new offence from using social media for up to two years. In addition, the eSafety Commissioner would be given specific powers to order the removal of the so-called ‘post and boast’ crime videos from social media and other digital platforms.

Shadow Minister for Communications, Melissa McIntosh said, “the upwards trend across Australia of posting and bosting crime is clearly a serious national issue. Prime Minister Albanese is showing weak leadership by doing nothing, and letting the states and territories deal with it.

“The Albanese Labor Government is once again way behind when it comes to meeting the community’s expectation on national safety, just like they were when they were slow to take up the Coalition’s position to ban social media for children under 16.

“Offenders of youth crime are using social media in an effort to one-up each other online with brazen acts of vandalism, break and enters, stealing cars and acts of violence to gain notoriety.

“A Coalition government will implement post and boast laws to tackle this issue as a priority. It shouldn’t be about handballing it to the states and territories which is what this weak Albanese Labor Government is doing.”