Barnaby Joyce calls for privacy law overhaul, defends actions after altercation with photographer

Barnaby Joyce defends his actions after an altercation with a photographer and renewed his call for an overhaul of privacy laws.

Barnaby Joyce has defended his actions after an extraordinary altercation with a photographer outside a church yesterday, reiterating his calls for a “tort of privacy” to protect people like his partner Vikki Campion and their son Sebastian from the media.

The former deputy prime minister yesterday took to Twitter to post footage of the clash with Matrix Picture Agency photographer Guy Finlay, who was filmed accusing Mr Joyce of sizing him up to punch him.

Mr Joyce is on medical leave after a public backlash over his ­decision to accept $150,000 from the Seven Network for a television interview with his media adviser-turned-partner Ms Campion.

The former deputy prime minister has defended the interview, which screened last Sunday, ­saying the money would go into a trust for their baby son, Sebastian.

Asked this morning on Seven’s Sunrise program whether he had really shaped up to “thump” Mr Finlay outside the Armidale church yesterday, Mr Joyce said: “No I didn’t.”

“He knows that, and so do all the people who were standing around watching. They know it as well,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise.

“The thing was, we had a person who didn’t identify themselves, was hiding in among trees, obviously it’s an issue for Vikki, it’s an issue for Seb, for Sebastian, and if someone was hiding outside your grandkids’ house and they didn’t identify themselves, would you go up and say g’day to them?”

Mr Joyce claimed he was not calling for a tort of privacy for himself, but for people like Ms Campion and their son.

“For public people like myself I understand that you’re a public figure and there’s and expectation that you’re going to be part of the media. We get that,” Mr Joyce said.

“But for private individuals I think they deserve a greater protection so that they can live their live un-interfered and not be harassed over a long period of time, which is what I’ve seen now in close circumstances with Vikki and Seb.

“This is not something that’s happened over a day, it’s something that’s happened over months now, over half a year, and I think there comes a point where there’s got to be a greater protection than what we’ve got, because we’ve got no protection.

“You can’t use defamation, you can’t go to the Press Council. None of these things have any effect. The only effect that we’ve got, apparently, is what I’m trying to do now, is raise the issue.

“There’s just no protections there, and these people have the capacity to destroy someone’s life.

“They can just hound you, they can put drones over your house, they can stay at your door, they can basically keep you locked in your house and I’m prepared to take that, as I’m sure that you know how to deal with it, but private individuals shouldn’t have to deal with that.”

Tort of privacy ‘would protect women getting abortions’

Last week, Mr Joyce unsuccessfully lobbied his NSW Nationals counterparts to vote against a bill to provide 150-metre “safe zones” around abortion clinics.

Asked whether he was guilty of advocating a double standard, given he opposed protections from harassment for women attending abortion clinics but objected to being photographed outside church, Mr Joyce claimed a tort of privacy would better protect women than the exclusion zone legislation.

“If we had a proper tort of privacy, that would protect people going to clinics, absolutely,” Mr Joyce said.

“Because you wouldn’t be able to go up and harass somebody. It would be a much better protection than saying, ‘oh, stand back 150 metres’.

“People know my position. I’ve always been a pro-lifer. People know that. But I’m saying that even a restriction is not the proper protection.

“A tort of privacy would be a much better action than a restrictive covenant about how close a person goes. How do you actually know what the person’s up to?

“But if you actually said a person has the right to remain unmolested by being photographed, by being approached, as a private individual, then a tort of privacy would be a better action.”

NSW Labor MP Penny Sharpe, who championed the “safe zone” legislation, told The Australian yesterday Mr Joyce was a hypocrite.

“Hypocrisy thy name is Barnaby,” Ms Sharpe said.

“Barnaby probably needs to learn more about intrusion of privacy, harassment and intimidation rather than trying to tell everyone else what it is.

“Women outside abortion clinics are not paid $150,000 to tell their stories. All they want to do is seek medical treatment without interference. The two things are not the same.”

‘We wouldn’t have done the interview if we thought this was going to continue’

Asked whether Ms Campion’s decision to accept $150,000 for the Sunday Night interview made her fair game for the media, Mr Joyce said the money had not gone to Ms Campion.

“First of all, neither of us received any money. That goes to Sebastian,” Mr Joyce said.

“If you want an interview with me, you get it for free, and no one actually wants that. What people wanted, rightly so, the networks wanted, was an interview not with me, they wanted it with Sebastian and Vikki because that was going to make money for them, and I understand that, and it’s a commercial transaction.

“We didn’t want to do it. We waited half a year trying to burn this thing out, trying to stop it, thinking it would all die away, but it didn’t, and we wanted some form of circuit-breaker to stop exactly what you saw on your clip there before.

“We wanted a circuit-breaker from that from our lives, and we hoped that the interview would do that.

“We certainly would never do the interview if we thought it was just going to continue on. Obviously it is.

“The reason we thought it would be a circuit breaker is any photos you want, they’re for free. You can go on your website and get them for free.

“They don’t have to hang around like some sort of creepy thing in the bushes outside a church waiting to photograph you as you leave.”

Asked how he was coping on a personal level, Mr Joyce said there was “a bit of pressure there”.

“You’d be foolish to say anything else, and it’s how you try to manage it. I can manage it over a period of time for myself, but obviously it’s difficult trying to manage it for everybody else,” he said.

Travel scrutinised

Mr Joyce and Ms Campion’s taxpayer-funded travel has been subjected to scores of inquiries by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority since it began an investigation in February.

The watchdog has told the ABC Mr Joyce has responded to 79 questions in relation to his travel expenses, and Ms Campion has been asked 57 questions about hers.

Both have strongly denied misusing taxpayer funds, and Mr Joyce has previously said the inquiries so far haven’t found he has done anything wrong.

The IPEA says it cannot comment on the findings, and that more questions may be asked as its investigation proceeds.

Police report discussed

The photographer Mr Finlay said he had discussed reporting the incident to the police with his employers, but believed there was “no real need for the police to get involved”.

“We’ve been discussing it. Potentially we could do because of the threats that he made to me,” Mr Finlay said.

“You know what we deal with in our work. No one was hurt. He wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t hurt. There’s no real need for the police to get involved. He’s just made such a fool of himself.”

Mr Finlay said he had been photographing Mr Joyce and Ms Campion from a park across the road as they emerged from the church.

“They’re walking up the footpath then Vikki looked over her shoulder and mentioned it to Barnaby.

“Barnaby handed the pram over to her and strode across the road. I put the camera down and went to find my iPhone to record what was said, but I didn’t have time.

“In the last two or three metres, Barnaby sped up towards me. He had his fist clenched and his right shoulder back, ready to swing.

“I put my left hand up and fended him off and he backed away.

“Then Vikki came across with the pram and a couple of other churchgoers. She was in tears. She was beside herself.”

In 2006, Mr Finlay brawled with another photographer after squirting a water pistol at actor Heath Ledger at the Sydney premiere of Ledger’s film Brokeback Mountain.

In a similar incident in 2008 he was caught on camera brawling with colleague Jamie Fawcett as the pair tried to photograph US pop star Katy Perry.

Mr Finlay said he was “not at all” concerned that his previous on-camera altercations would show his clash with Mr Joyce in a poor light.

“I’ve never actually attacked anyone,’’ he said. “People have ­attacked me. I can point to many TV cameramen and other press photographers who’ve been attacked by people who don’t want to be photographed. I can only defend myself.”

He said he and Mr Fawcett were “mates now”.

Mr Finlay said his employers had ­decided Mr Joyce and Ms Campion remained a “legitimate news story” as a result of their Sunday Night interview.

“That’s why I came up,” Mr Finlay said.

Yesterday’s two videos posted by Mr Joyce showed Mr Finlay in an Armidale street.

“We did the Sunday program to stop this, this is why we need a tort of privacy,” Mr Joyce posted alongside the first video, which showed him repeatedly asking Finlay for his name.

Alongside the second video, Mr Joyce posted the caption: “Coming out of church, guess who is hiding in the bushes taking photos, yet won’t give his name or who he works for.”

“Why do you keep following me around?” Mr Joyce asked in the video.

“Well, it’s our job,” Mr Finlay said.

“Who do you work for?” Mr Joyce asked.

“How can you seriously come out of church and size someone up to punch them?” Mr Finlay said.

“I didn’t size you up to punch you,” Mr Joyce replied.

“Yes you did. You pulled your right hand back and if I hadn’t actually walked away you would have clubbed me. Go back to your regular job as a bouncer. Seriously,” Mr Finlay said.

Mr Joyce worked as a bouncer at Armidale’s Wicklow Hotel during his university days.

“Seriously, Barnaby, that’s ridiculous what you just did,” Mr Finlay said, before turning to a group that included Ms Campion, who had Sebastian in a pram, an elderly woman, and a man.

“He’s just come out of church, and he’s sized me up,” Mr Finlay said to the group.

“You’re hiding behind a tree like a rotten snake, mate. Leave us alone,” the male churchgoer said.