Borrows Chester: Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Borrows Chester: Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:629;Page:1784] 
CHESTER BORROWS (National—Whanganui) 
: 
 I rise in support of the Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill. It is obvious there is a need for this legislation given the changes or as some would say enhancements in technology available to everyday people. These changes in technology have increased the ability for anybody at all to make images and publish them easily cheaply and anonymously. This puts at risk anybody who could be anywhere at any time. 
A couple of circumstances though are not covered and I wonder whether they should be. One relates to sound recordings. In years past there have been some fairly high-profile cases of intimate sound recordings that have been published to the detriment of public figures and we can think of members of the royal family and members of the acting fraternity. But I have one circumstance in mind which was illustrated by an incident that occurred in Taranaki. My friend Shane Ardern will be relieved to know that it was a long way from Pihama— 
Shane Ardern 
: Or even Te Kiri. 
CHESTER BORROWS 
: —or Te Kiri. 
The case involved a young farming lad who had a crush on the farmer’s wife next door. He snuck over to the neighbouring couple’s farm crawled under their house drilled a hole in the floor and inserted a microphone into their bedroom. Using ancient technology he then proceeded to record on audio cassette the discussions shall we say that occurred within the bedroom. Then he would recover the tapes and replace them and all the rest of it that went on. 
When we discovered what was going on we found that there was actually very little we could charge him with because there had not been a burglary. He was not found peeping or peering—in fact he was not peeping or peering at all—and he was not located on the property so charges relating to trespass or unlawfully being in an enclosed yard did not apply. The wilful damage to the floorboard by drilling a small hole was infinitesimal. 
The real damage of course was done to the couple involved who discovered it had happened when people started talking about it within the neighbourhood. So it is easy to record sound as well as images with recent technology and I think that the catchment of this legislation could have been increased to offer some security for people who could have their privacy infringed in that way. 
Another concern I have is about the definition of “intimate visual recording” because there are times when people might agree to having their images recorded or their photograph taken. A lot of this recent technology is in very young hands. I am aware of a young teenage couple who had been seeing each other for a while and with whom I had had some dealings. For their own purposes they took naked pictures of each other. What happened as inevitably these things do was that the relationship broke down. What happened to the pictures? Well they were digital images and they were saved on a computer. When the mates of one of the parties got upset at the breakdown in the relationship and at the scorn that was poured upon the person the pictures were broadcast on the Internet. 
It was very difficult to find what legislation would be appropriate in that circumstance. It would not be caught in respect of this legislation because initially the image was made with the consent of the person in the photograph. 
Hon Mark Burton 
: But not the distribution. It was being distributed without the person’s consent. 
CHESTER BORROWS 
: I understood that if an intimate visual recording is distributed the definition of that is “without the knowledge or consent”. 
Hon Mark Burton 
: Without the knowledge or consent of distribution. 
CHESTER BORROWS 
: I will have to chew that one over. In any event what happens of course is that a person’s reputation—or their view of that reputation—is completely damaged. It is very hard for someone to bounce back from that because he or she feels that everybody knows in spite of the relatively few people who may know. 
Given the fine intent of the legislation it is a shame that those two issues were not taken into account at the time although I say that with the benefit of hindsight. The National Party certainly supports this bill and we look forward to its implementation. We hope that members of the public will take some certainty and assurance from the implementation and enforcement of the legislation.