‘It can take a toll on the best person’: Peter Malinauskas’ startling admission to hosts of British podcast The Rest Is Politics

The Premier has opened up to the hosts of Britain’s biggest podcast about the dangers of social media, saying politicians aren’t protected from a “pretty dark place”.

Often regarded for his stoic persona and positive outlook on life, the SA premier has made a confronting admission to the hosts of Britain’s biggest podcast – detailing the negative impact social media has on politicians who can find themselves “in the rabbit hole of a pretty dark place”.

Appearing alongside Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell on ‘Leading’ – the same duo who host the hugely popular ‘The Rest Is Politics’ podcast – Peter Malinauskas discussed in full detail his plan to ban children under the age of 14 from holding social media accounts.

Mr Malinauskas revealed that on occasion, even he “felt the pinch” of hurtful comments online aimed at him.

“I’m a politician – you would think that I am trained to read comments on social media and dismiss them and think ‘whatever’,” he said. “Imagine if you’re a 13-year-old kid? It worries me greatly.

Premier Peter Malinauskas wants to force social media giants to stop children aged under 14 from having accounts. Picture: Tom Huntley

“Ultimately we (politicians) are human – we have all the fragilities and failings of human beings. Social media has become a proxy for feedback, but of course it’s a terrible one because the people who are motivated to contribute on social media are almost always particularly strident in their views – that’s not a normal thing to sit around and tap out responses to politicians on social media.

“Before you know it, you’re heading into the rabbit hole of a pretty dark place, and I think that infects your view and after a while it can take a toll on the best person.”

In May, the Sunday Mail revealed children under the age of 14 would be banned from holding accounts such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram and X under Australia-first legislation being considered by Mr Malinauskas.

He said he was motivated by growing evidence social media was harming children’s mental health, and as a father of four, he was particularly concerned about the world his children were growing up in.

On the podcast episode, released on Monday, Mr Malinauskas said he wanted to introduce legislation by the end of 2024 that would place the burden on social media platforms to ensure their users were above the legal age.

“They have the capacity to know the age of people who have an account,” he said.

“There should be age verification – the obligation should be on the social media platform, and if you’re under the age of 14, you should not be able to get one (an account). For children between 14 and 16, they would require parental consent.

“Bullying has always existed in schools – I think it’s naive to suggest otherwise – but what changed with social media is once upon a time if a kid got bullied at school they went home and found a place of refuge. There is no refuge in a world of social media, and kids are going home and looking at their phone and their screens and the bullying continues.

“It’s that permanent sense of being under siege for a young person that has a particularly deleterious impact on their upbringing.”

Hosted by British political experts Campbell and Stewart, The Rest Is Politics is one of the world’s most popular podcasts, and Leading is their sister interview podcast.