Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

The issue that arises, though, is that, in the absence of a clear definition—which we know is being removed—there is now room to argue what 'consent' may or may not mean in the context of the trial. So what I'm trying to explore is how it will play out in a prosecution under this law. I would argue that you'd need the definition of 'consent' in the current law to be replicated in this bill because you've made consent an express part of the offence but you've removed 'consent' by way of a definition. The issue that has been raised with us in particular by victims is that the move to the new laws will create more room for cross-examination to occur, which is obviously what they don't want. That's the issue I have in terms of how it plays out in the court. Our amendment clearly mitigates that, but are there any ways you can mitigate the potential exposure for victims? It's the victims who are raising this with us. They don't want to be cross-examined on consent in the court.