What has happened to the National Child Sex Offender Register?
The Department of Home Affairs commenced consultations for the National Child Sex Offender register in January 2019. The 2019 – 2020 Federal Budget provided $7.8 million to establish a National Child Sex Offenders Register.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation wants to know – Where is the Register?
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation has completed an opinion paper on the topic of Australia’s Publicly Accessible Sex Offender Register, which we hope will reignite the conversation and ultimately see some action take place.
Courageous decisions are required by our State and Federal leaders
Bruce Morcombe said: “We have our priorities in the wrong order. Inaction is not an option. The time is here and now to see some progress on the National Register. We cannot sit on our hands any longer. Courageous decisions are required by our State and Federal leaders.”
In December 2003, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe was abducted and murdered by twice-convicted paedophile Brett Cowan.
Since 2014, the Morcombe family have publicly supported and advocated for the development of a publicly accessible sex offender register in Australia – referred to as Daniel’s Law in honour of the Morcombe’s son Daniel.
Daniel’s Law would ensure the register is freely accessible to the community, federally funded, and understood more broadly as an educational tool.
The register can aid in the safety of children by allowing people “in the privacy of their own home” to be educated about the geographical whereabouts of high risk, convicted offenders.
The register would particularly assist single mothers who are most at risk when looking for a relationship online. To reiterate this point, Bruce offered the following anecdote; “Just relate to our personal story, Brett [Cowan] was married and she had no idea about his previous offending – he was convicted twice – and went to jail for very violent crimes against kids.”
The register would focus on protecting and informing the community. The register would also act as a deterrent for those individuals who commit crimes of a sexual nature against children.
For media enquiries please contact, Tegan Annett 0493 448 675/ 1300 326 435
