Privacy Barnaby-style ‘unworkable’ as Mark Dreyfus attacks Joyce’s proposal

A former leading barrister said Barnaby Joyce’s proposal for changes to privacy laws would make the media “not workable”.

Opposition justice spokesman Mark Dreyfus has attacked Barnaby Joyce for proposing tort of privacy, which could have prevented the media from revealing the former deputy prime minister’s relationship with Vikki Campion.

Mr Dreyfus accused Mr Joyce of using his personal life as a basis for policy making. But he left the door open to considering a tort of privacy if the government adopted Mr Joyce’s suggestion.

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Picture: AAP

“Mr Joyce shouldn’t be using his own personal circumstances as the basis for policy making. It’s the very definition of policy on the run,” Mr Dreyfus told The Australian.

“If the Attorney-General has a serious proposal in this area, Labor of course will examine it.”

A former leading barrister added Barnaby Joyce’s proposal for a tort of privacy would make the media “not workable”.

Peter Faris QC said Mr Joyce’s proposal would have an “enormous” impact on the media, labelling the idea “nonsense”.

“First of all you won’t be able to take photographs of anyone because that is obviously an invasion of privacy,” Mr Faris told The Australian.

“And you wouldn’t be able to do interviews and ask them things on the street, even for politician. It would make the whole of the media not workable.

“It is desirable in a democracy to have an open media and for the media to have reasonable access to its citizens. So it is really just a nonsense suggestion.”

Earlier, Barnaby Joyce said his family never would have agreed to a paid interview with Network Seven if Australia had sufficient privacy laws, as Seven confirms the interview will air this Sunday.

“This is Ms Campion’s first interview since details of her relationship with Mr Joyce were made public,” the Seven Network’s Sunday Night program tweeted.

This weekend, #SN7 will air an #exclusive interview with @Barnaby_Joyce & his partner, Vikki Campion. This is Ms Campion’s first interview since details of her relationship with Mr Joyce were made public. The interview with @alextcullen airs this Sunday at 8.30pm on @Channel7. pic.twitter.com/kIRlUyBzDJ

— Sunday Night (@sundaynighton7) May 29, 2018

The former deputy prime minister told The Australian his partner Vikki Campion made the decision to accept money for a Network Seven interview because she was being “screwed over” from the constant media attention.

Mr Joyce said he would be “only too willing” to talk with Malcolm Turnbull about creating a tort of invasion of privacy in common law.

He also claimed an attempt to start defamation proceedings against News Corporation, the publisher of The Australian, fell over because he was advised he would lose the case because the media conglomerate earns more money than he does.

“If we had a proper tort of privacy we would never have had to do this,” Mr Joyce said, when asked about reaction to the Prime Minister who said this morning he would raise the paid interview with the former Nationals leader.

“If Malcolm wants to talk to me about introducing a proper tort of privacy I am only too willing about having that conversation.

“We tried everything else, we tried to burn this out and none of that worked.”

Mr Joyce argued he was not getting paid for an interview with Network Seven because all of the money is going to his son Sebastian.

He said Ms Campion decided to accept money for an interview because the media had profited from invading the couple’s privacy.

“Remember there are other people in this interview being Vikki and Seb, so if it was just an interview with me as a politician, sure, I am not going to charge for that,” Mr Joyce said.

“But that is not what they wanted, they wanted an interview obviously to get Vikki’s side of the story and like most mothers she said: ‘Seeing as I am being screwed over and there are drones and everything over my house in the last fortnight, paparazzi waiting for me, if everybody else is making money then (I am) going to make money out of it’.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: AAP

Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with Barnaby Joyce about accepting payment for the interview.

The Prime Minister would not publicly criticise the former deputy prime minister but said he would raise the issue privately.

“It has been very widely criticised, I will no doubt have the opportunity to talk about it with Barnaby privately but it is certainly not a course of action I would have encouraged him to take it, I will put it that way,” Mr Turnbull told Tasmanian radio station LAFM.

“I think you can understand how I feel about it but I will just be circumspect, uncharacteristically circumspect, on this and leave it to a private discussion.”

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said Barnaby Joyce had made a mistake, believing most Australians would be “disgusted” at the move by the former deputy prime minister.

“Ultimately it is a matter for him and his judgment, I personally wouldn’t do it, I don’t think it is right, I think most Australians are pretty disgusted by it,” Ms O’Dwyer told ABC radio.