Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The proposed amendments go towards addressing the concerns raised by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. However, we do not believe that the civil penalty is akin to the criminal offence, as suggested by the committee. The penalty provisions are expressly classified as civil penalties. As such, there is no consequence in the form of criminal record. The high penalty reflects the serious nature of sharing an intimate image without consent and the harm and distress that that can then cause. Key concerns that we have expressed in the past related to the burden of proof on the complainant under the use of a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence. We do not support placing undue pressure on victims in these cases. The reversal of the burden of proof in this instance allows the commissioner to investigate and determine matters based on evidence that is in the mind of the person around the nature of consent, whether it is expressly given or expressly not given or absent entirely. As such, we do not support these amendments.