The Queensland state government has followed through on an election promise to set up a publicly available child sex offender register.
Premier David Crisafulli announced a $10 million funding package for the project at the annual Dance for Daniel ball in Brisbane.
The creation of a child sex offender register will be made in honour of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and murdered by a twice-convicted paedophile in 2003.
Daniel’s parents, Bruce and Denise, have campaigned steadfastly over the years for a number of child protection measures including an offenders register.
“I remain steadfast in my view that if somebody breaches their conditions, they lose the right to anonymity, and there should be a website that shows that,” Crisafulli said.
“If there is a serious hardcore paedophile living in an area, parents deserve to know that.
“... and if somebody comes into the lives of a family, parents have the right to be able to check the history of that person and every change we make in that space will be about making sure that we create a safer life for kids and those changes will happen this calendar year.”
The legislation would be known as “Daniel’s Law.”
Daniel’s killer, Brett Cowan, had moved to the Sunshine Coast from Darwin to serve out his parole when he preyed on the 13-year-old as he waited for a bus to go shopping.
Speaking to the media, Daniel’s father, Bruce, said Cowan had managed to fly under the radar in the community and that he believed Cowan’s partner at the time did not know about his past.
Child sex offenders who fail to comply with reporting, breach parole or give misleading information to police will have their photographs and personal information shared online.
Another feature of the legislation would allow parents and guardians to inquire about specific people if they have regular, unsupervised contact with their child.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation asserts that the register would be beneficial to single mothers who are dating and want to make sure their new partner has not been convicted of offences against children.
Since 2014, the Morcombe family has publicly supported and advocated for the development of a publicly accessible sex offender register at the national level.
“We cannot sit on our hands any longer. Courageous decisions are required by our state and federal leaders,” Bruce Morcombe said.
They have expressed frustration that no national system has been set up despite $7.8 million being set aside for one to be developed since January 2019.
