Push for Qld’s $10m predators’ register to go national
The State Government will spend $10 million to establish a public child sex offender register by the end of the year, vowing to publicly name and shame the ‘monsters’ preying on our children. VOTE IN OUR POLL
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The State Government will spend $10 million to establish a public child sex offender register, vowing to publicly name and shame the ‘monsters’ preying on our children.
Premier David Crisafulli said Daniel’s Law, in honour of murdered Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, would be in place by the end of the year, as promised.
The Premier announced the changes as hundreds joined Bruce and Denise Morcombe at the 20th annual Dance for Daniel in Brisbane on the weekend.
The Morcombes have dedicated their lives turning their tragedy into making children safer around Australia by providing free child safety education to schools and families, supporting young survivors of crime and trauma and advocating for stronger child protection laws.
“Our journey over the last 20 years has been one filled with a purpose. We were both consumed with an appetite to do all we could to keep other children safe,” Denise Morcombe told the milestone Dance for Daniel.
“Daniel’s story sparked a national movement, and thanks to your generosity, we continue to build a safer future for all children. Thank you for being part of this mission. Together, we are making a difference.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has long supported a public register of child sex offenders, writing to state and territory leaders back in 2019.
Under the Qld changes, parents will be able to search the photos, names and locations of convicted child sex offenders, including those who breach their bail or are repeat offenders.
Under another tier, parents or guardians will be able to inquire about a specific person who has regular, unsupervised contact with their children.
Mr Crisafulli said he hoped the register would go national.
“There’s no use having a great state system if you’ve got monsters who can lurk between,’’ he told Seven.
“State boundaries shouldn’t be the go to for dangerous people to cross and do bad things.”
Critics of the scheme say it won’t work and may encourage vigilantes.
Danielle Harris, the Deputy Director of the Griffith Criminology Institute, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the field, told 7News people should be more worried about offenders who hadn’t been caught yet.
“The people that get away with this and the people that do it are the people who make you feel it’s okay.’’
Bruce and Denise Morcombe's ten year journey
Mr Crisafulli rejected criticism the plan would not work.
“There will be a conga line of people who have taken the ‘soft on crime’ approach, who will be telling us why [these new measures] can’t occur,’’ he told media.
“I’m telling you why it can, and we made the commitment that we were going to clamp down on child sex offenders. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing.”
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Originally published as Push for Qld’s $10m predators’ register to go national
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