12. Question No. 12—Internal AffairsGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South) to the Minister of Internal AffairsQuestion No. 12—Internal Affairs12. GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South) to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What initiatives has the Government funded to help keep New Zealanders safe online?Hon JAN TINETTI (Minister of Internal Affairs): We do our best to protect children and keep them safe online but this is often difficult to manage. With the ever-evolving and escalating nature of online harms combined with the increasing time spent online during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown the Government acted quickly by investing $3 million from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund in the hugely popular Keep It Real Online" campaign. This wide-reaching campaign kicked off in July 2020 and is just one part of the Government's work to keep New Zealanders safer online. It helped parents caregivers children and young people to understand and identify online bullying inappropriate content and grooming as well as providing tips and resources to prevent harm and seek help.Ginny Andersen: Why was the "Keep It Real Online" campaign necessary?Hon JAN TINETTI: We know that 40 percent of young Kiwis have had online interactions with people they've never met in real life and one in five are bullied online every year. During the COVID-19 lockdown total internet traffic increased by 40 percent. That's why this Government invested in the "Keep It Real Online" campaign to educate and provide engaging tools to help not only our children and young people but also their parents and caregivers to identify harms and stay safe online. As a parent and a teacher I know the importance of meaningfully engaging young people in a way that is both relevant and interesting. The "Keep It Real Online" campaign is an innovative way to get these messages across to our young people.Ginny Andersen: How successful was the "Keep It Real Online" campaign in reaching New Zealanders?Hon JAN TINETTI: We have heard positive feedback from parents caregivers and young people across New Zealand. I am pleased to inform the House that the initial campaign featuring porn stars an online groomer two imaginary rabbits and a young girl being bullied has reached over 68 percent of New Zealand parents and caregivers and was viewed 32 million times worldwide. Over 860000 New Zealanders have checked out the website and once children returned to school after the campaign started there was a decline in the number of searches for pornography on school networks and an increase in people seeking information and advice on this issue. The second phase of the campaign was targeted directly to intermediate and high school - aged students through the miniseries called The Eggplant. The episodes of this miniseries have been viewed over 250000 times and key scenes and trailers have had well over 4 million views on social media. It will continue to be promoted as an ongoing resource in schools now the school term has started. I'm proud this Government doesn't shy away from difficult topics and is doing what works for young people even if some people of the boomer generation don't yet know what an eggplant means.SPEAKER: Well I think I'm older than a boomer so the member probably hasn't insulted me!"