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

In terms of the government's response, again, we're all seeking the same outcome. Our biggest concern is unintended consequences. The unintended consequences won't be known, unfortunately, until the law changes. When someone seeks to bring a prosecution and the victim has to be cross-examined or, alternatively, says, 'This is all too much; I'm reluctant to be cross-examined,' it is then we'll know whether or not the unintended consequences are indeed playing out.

To clarify: our amendment is a simple way of addressing the issue. It overcomes the issues that have been raised, in particular those raised by the victims and by those in the legal fraternity. All it would do is put us exactly where we all want to end up—that is, it would clarify the issue. The existing aggravated offence applies to deepfakes, as I said, as it was always intended to do.