Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald

To the Editor, You report that the Abbott Government is ‘culling cybersafety programmes’ and ‘cutting these programmes’ (‘Budget Estimates: Tony Abbott faces pressure to explain contradictory budget cuts’, Monday May 26).

This is not true. Two existing programmes, Cybersafety and Stay Smart Online, maintain their existing funding throughout the forward estimates (while they are subject to the application of the government wide indexation pause, there is no reduction in funding.)

At the same time, there is an additional $10 million in funding for new online safety measures over the forward estimates period, as was explained to your reporter by my office.

Far from a cull, there is a substantial increase in spending in the important policy area of online safety.

Paul Fletcher MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications