Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

In your response, you referenced the fact that—I think you said—the DPP needs to consider whether or not a prosecution is in the public interest. I'll just remind you that Mr Bernard Collaery is currently being prosecuted on the recommendation of the Commonwealth DPP. That is an outrageous abuse of powers. It is clearly not in the public interest that Mr Collaery be prosecuted, because that prosecution has an absolutely chilling effect on people who may wish to blow the whistle. There was undoubtedly criminal activity by some people who were inside Australia's intelligence apparatus at the time. They made the decision to bug the East Timorese government's private discussions when we were negotiating a treaty with East Timor—one that involved Alexander Downer, who then rolled out the door into a cushy consultancy with Woodside Petroleum. Funnily enough, Woodside was the corporation that actually stood to financially benefit the most from the illegal spying that was conducted on our near neighbour—and should-be very close friend—Timor-Leste. So please don't offer to me the public interest test that the DPP is supposed to go through before a prosecution is mounted because, clearly, either that test is broken or the way the DPP applies it is broken. I offer you exhibit A: the prosecution and the charging of Mr Bernard Collaery and Witness K. That offers me no comfort at all. I can't believe I have to keep telling you this, Minister: it's not the Pokemon characters I'm worried about; they're not real. What I am worried about are the creators of the game. They are the people who I believe fall foul of this legislation, and nothing that you have said has offered me comfort.

Can I ask: if a group which organises fishing trips for its members arranges online to meet at a certain site that happens to be on private land and then they take a few fish out of a creek or a dam on private land, do you think they might fall foul of this legislation?