Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

In 2014, the then Minister for Communications announced that he would be booting community TV off air to an online-only delivery model. Since then, the government has granted some extensions to the deadline, but right now the community TV sector is facing a 30 June deadline—only 30 days from now. Community TV stations have been making progress in creating new revenue streams through online delivery, but would benefit from a period of certainty on the free-to-air broadcast platform to support this. The sector has heard from the department and minister's office that they are working on what they have described as 'a range of options', which suggests there will be a further extension of the apparatus licence possible or likely, but with conditions.

The community TV sector needs a period of stability so that they can make the transition from a position of financial strength, as opposed to a fight for survival resulting from the cycle of short-term extensions. Certainly, certainty for the sector is a very important thing. Will the government extend community TV licences beyond 30 June 2018? When will the stations be updated on the outcome, given the looming 30 June deadline? What options is the government working on to support community TV? What alternative use will the spectrum be put to if community TV is forced to vacate the spectrum?

I have a further note in relation to criminalising the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, which the member also referred to, formally known as revenge porn. I note that Labor introduced a private member's bill in 2015 to criminalise non-consensual sharing of intimate images and have committed to implement this policy within the first 100 days of government. This bill has lapsed.

In 2017 the government introduced a bill to introduced a civil penalty scheme for the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. The opposition supports the bill, but our position—and we have stated this on the record—is that it doesn't go far enough and that image based abuse of this nature should be criminalised. I note that the government's bill was amended in the Senate to criminalise image based abuse and is now before the House. The bill is expected to pass, but what is unclear at this stage is whether this will be a civil scheme or a civil and criminal scheme.

In the 2018-19 budget, the government has provided additional funding for the eSafety Commissioner to administer a new civil penalties regime to combat the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. And I note that in 2015 the government committed $10 million to support victims of image based abuse in a number of areas. I also note that the pilot of the image based abuse portal was announced in December 2017 and that the pilot phase of the portal is intended to evaluate the volume and complexity of the reports received, before a formal launch of the portal in 2018.

Minister, could you please provide an update on the progress of the bill to outlaw the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. When do you anticipate the bill will be listed for debate in the House of Representatives? Given that the budget allocates resources for the functions I have described, can we take it that the bill will soon be on its way? Of the $11.7 million in additional funding for the eSafety office announced in the budget, how much will be allocated to administering the new civil penalties regime to address non-consensual sharing of intimate images and providing guidance and support to Australians of all ages who experience online abuse? Of the $11.7 million in additional funding for the eSafety office announced in the budget, how much will be used to implement the civil penalties regime and to implement the criminalisation of non-consensual sharing of intimate images, if this were to come into effect? On funding for the image based abuse portal, how much funding has been received to date? On what, when and where has this money been spent? What enhancements have been made to the portal since its launch? How frequently is the portal used and how is it measured? How many complaints have been made to the portal? How many complaints have been resolved and how has the resolution of complaints been measured?

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