The Advertiser Editorial June 22: Right call to keep monster in prison / Best can be in SA

NEW laws stopping serial sex predator Colin Humphrys from being released – and preventing others like him getting out of jail – are a victory on several levels.

NEW laws stopping serial sex predator Colin Humphrys from being released – and preventing others like him getting out of jail – are a victory on several levels.

They are, first and foremost, a victory for common sense. It is absurd to think our legal system ever considered it appropriate to release criminals into the community while they remained unwilling or incapable of controlling their sexual instincts.

They are a victory for the man known as “XX”, who was just nine years old when Humphrys kidnapped and abused him in the 1990s.

After nearly 30 years of feeling ignored and “voiceless”, XX bravely came forward and called for change – and both the public and Parliament listened.

The laws are, of course, a victory for the community.

The public had to endure two earlier, frightening near-misses – similar freedom bids by paedophiles Mark Trevor Marshall and Gavin Shaun Schuster – before action was taken.

Likewise, the laws are a victory for bipartisanship, showing that political divides not only can, but should, be abandoned when public safety is under threat.

It is astounding to think the Humphrys’ case has moved from imminent, court-ordered release to legislative change in less than three months.

The new laws also serve as a reminder of the importance, value and power of professional journalism.

If The Advertiser’s chief court reporter Sean Fewster had not exposed the likelihood of Humphrys’ release, he would have been let out to a location kept secret from the community.

Fewster himself stood up in court and successfully opposed the suppression order which would have concealed from the public the location to which he would be released. Without this action, his freedom would have gone unnoticed by many, his whereabouts completely unknown and the community potentially put at risk.

The onus now falls on the state’s courts to properly interpret, and effectively use, this new tool provided by Parliament.

Best can be in SA

IT’S a good sign that Premier Steven Marshall says only the best will do for South Australia.

He is clearly enthusiastic about the burgeoning space industry. When The Advertiser asked him if he would settle for SA being an industry hub with administrative headquarters in Canberra, he was emphatic. It’s the headquarters he wants.

Former Premier Jay Weatherill loved going in to bat for the state, taking the fight right up to the Federal Government.

That’s what South Australians are used to.

So there were some concerns that when the State Government turned the same colour as the Feds, there might not be so much will to go in to battle.

But he has been more than happy to put pressure on his Federal colleagues by pushing the SA cause.

The Federal Government and the new National Space Agency head Megan Clark have made it clear that all options for Space HQ are on the table.

Both Mr Marshall and Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskus are gunning for SA to come out on top, and they have every reason to be optimistic.