Billionaire Pratt’s ex-mistress rejects online laws as damaging

FORMER mistress of late billionaire Richard Pratt and soft porn star Madison Ashton has objected to proposed new laws on online safety, saying it will push the sex industry to the dark web.

Ms Ashton – aka Christine McQueen – advertises her services of glamour nude photography, soft porn, previews and movie trailers of her online subscription content and advertises her “tour dates” across Australia on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and her own website.

But the new laws, known as Part 9, mean Ms Ashton can’t tell her clients — who reportedly include judges, politicians, scientists, influential business leaders, religious ministers, philanthropists and doctors — about her “tour dates” through her social media accounts.

Ms Ashton, a self-described pornographer and content creator, said the laws will ban the use on social media and the internet of soft porn images of herself and others such as movie stars like Marilyn Monroe.

Her submission, written by lawyer Zali Burrows to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications which is oversighting the new bill, also warns adult service customers will be pushed towards the dark web.

The submission said the new laws are “effectively criminalising the advertising of sex glam services, bankrupting an entire Australian industry, promoting use of the dark web, and offending the implied freedom of political speech”.

The new Online Safety Bill aims to improve online safety but it has given broad, discretionary powers to the eSafety commissioner.

After initial consultation in 2019, the federal government released the draft bill last December and called for public submissions.

Almost 200 submissions about the proposed changes have been received.

A spokesman for the Department of Infrastructure said Ms Ashton’s submission was received and her views were considered as part of the development of the Online Safety Bill.