Peter Dutton vows to introduce a national child sex offender register so Aussies can find out if they're living next door to a pervert: Here's how it could work
- Register would make it easier for public to track sex offenders
- READ MORE: Paedophiles must be CASTRATED, Pauline Hanson says, as she calls for a national child sex offender register so Aussies can find out if they're living next door to a pervert
Peter Dutton has vowed to introduce a national paedophile register if he wins the federal election, saying it will do 'justice' to victims.
The Opposition leader made the promise on Thursday while talking about his time with the Queensland Police Force investigating sex crimes.
'We do justice to some of those victims, if we can provide more information, not less, to communities about where the risk is in their community and the precautions that parents need to take,' Mr Dutton told Sky News.
The register is a longstanding project of Mr Dutton's. He tried to introduce it as Home Affairs Minister of the Morrison government but admitted on Thursday that 'the states by and large weren't interested'.
In 2019 he proposed a register of child sex offenders on a public website.
'It would have a strong deterrent effect on offenders and ensure that parents are not in the dark about whether a registered sex offender has access to their children,' he said at the time.
'The abuse and exploitation of children is a global epidemic that is becoming more prevalent, more organised and more extreme.
'I have always fought for the protection of children and this is a battle that we must win.'
A Daily Mail Australia mock-up of how an online national child sex offender could look, including some of the most well known offenders in Australia
As of 2022 there were more than 17,000 convicted paedophiles in Australia
Some states and territories already publicly release information about paedophiles in certain circumstances.
But a nationally consistent approach would make it easier for members of the public to know where they are based.
There were an estimated 17,000 convicted paedophiles in Australia in 2022 - a number that has increased in recent years, according to the Bureau of Statistics.
A national paedophile register is an old project of Mr Dutton's, who tried to introduce one as Minister of Home Affairs in 2019
'It will send a clear message that Australia will not tolerate individuals preying on the most vulnerable members of the community – our children.'
The move could prove difficult to get off the ground, requiring the co-operation of state and territory governments as well as non-government stakeholders, including the Law Council of Australia and the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
In the same interview with Sky News on Thursday, Dutton also supported US President Donald Trump's ban on biologically male transgender athletes competing against women.
'I just don’t believe in discriminating against anyone, not on the basis of anything,' he said.
'And for young girls not to be able to achieve their Olympic dream, their pathway to a World Cup, or to be displaced from a team, because somebody has a physiological advantage over them - I just don’t think that that’s in the spirit of sport.'
Daniel Morcombe's parents issue urgent plea for paedophile register
Bruce Morcombe, whose son Daniel was abducted from a bus stop by a convicted paedophile in December 2003 and murdered, has urged state and territory governments to introduce a paedophile's register now.
'I don't want it to wither on the vine - I want it to grow bigger and stronger and actually be delivered'.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation has issued its own plan for how a sex offender register could work.
Daniel Morcombe was abducted from a bus stop when he was 13-year-old and murdered
Such a register would publish the names, aliases, geographical area, current photo, list of identifying features of offenders, and local statistics.
Mr Morcombe said his foundation's plan was modest and would only see repeat or recidivist offenders, or people who have committed hideous crimes, named and shamed.
That would give more minor, one-off offenders a chance to get help and be rehabilitated.
Mr Morcombe has previously lashed state and territory leaders as 'weak as piss' for their lukewarm response to Mr Dutton's $7.8million proposal.
But the child protection advocate struck a more measured tone to Daily Mail Australia saying he 'hoped' it was still on the agenda.
'And if it's not, as a reasonable, level-headed citizen of Australia, please tell me why? Why am I on the wrong track.
'I see a lot of upside. It's all about kids, keeping kids safe and kids' rights to be safe all the time, that's what it's about.
'That should come before convicted multi-offending paedophiles.'
