Pauline Hanson says fake nude photos of her published on the front page of newspapers almost a decade ago show why revenge porn laws are overdue.
Penalties of up to $525,000 for corporations and $105,000 for individuals are set to be introduced under legislation before the Senate, targeting the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
"This bill has come almost 10 years after my own experience of the degrading, embarrassing and false depiction of myself on the front of the Sunday Mail and Sunday Telegraph," Senator Hanson said in the Senate on Tuesday.
The newspapers' publisher News Corp later apologised after admitting the images were not of Senator Hanson.
The legislation has support from across the political divide, but Labor says it doesn't go far enough.
They want revenge porn to be made a federal criminal offence.
"We should be clear that this is exactly what non-consensual sharing of intimate images is - exploitation, humiliation and abuse and it needs to be treated as such," Labor senator Louise Pratt said.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said existing Commonwealth and state laws were in place to tackle the problem.
"Sometimes when we're talking about civil penalties they're represented as though these are being put forward instead of criminal sanctions," Senator Fifield said.
"They're not. They're being put forward as another option that is available to address this scourge."
While Senator Hanson supports the bill, she says people must ensure they keep their private photos to themselves.
"Sometime it takes two to tango and I'd say to anyone out there who thinks intimate images are OK to send by text message or email: Stop it. Keep it for the bedroom," she said.
