The state government has begun debate on legislation that would allow police to publicly share names and details of registered sex offenders who breach their release conditions.
The bill, named ‘Daniel’s Law’ after Daniel Morcombe who was killed by a registered sex offender 20 years ago, follows similar legislation already implemented in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.
“We’ve seen in other states the importance of ensuring that the protection of children comes before the privacy of perpetrators,” Police Minister Felix Ellis said.
“Nothing is more important than protecting our children.”
Right now, around 400 people are listed on Tasmania’s sex offender register.
Under the proposed changes, Tasmania Police could share offender details across government agencies and go public with information if someone absconds or breaks their release conditions.
Parents would also be able to ask for information about people who have regular, unsupervised contact with their children.
Bruce Morcombe of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation has been chipping away at making a sex offender register publicly accessible in each state for 15 years.
“Our family has had a connection with Tasmania for over two decades. We are honoured to see Daniel’s Law before the parliament,” he said.
“With the right checks and balances in place it is a win-win to keep Tasmanian children safe.”
Tasmania Police Acting Assistant Commander Stuart Wilkinson has sought to allay fears the law might encourage vigilantism.
“There certainly won’t be a free for all, publicly available list of reportable offenders,” Wilkinson said.
“The information will be assessed and considered and shared in a considered way. There will be restrictions on the sharing of information when that information is shared to another party and those laws will be enforced as well.”
