❓ Ms. Walker questions the Attorney General about access to the child sex offender register, raising concerns about transparency and community safety. The Attorney General disputes her claims, stating police have discretion to share information to protect the public.
AnsweredQoN 480Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CHILD SEX OFFENDER REGISTER
I refer to the Attorney General’s interview with Geoff Hutchison on ABC radio on 5 July 2006 about the release into the community of confessed multiple child sex predator Kevin James Lilly when he discussed the child sex offender register. The Attorney General was asked by Mr Hutchison how he could assure the people of Bullsbrook and the parents of Bullsbrook kids that all are safe. He was also asked by Mr Hutchison how he could quell community concern and anxiety that they have access to his paedophile register so that they will know whether a paedophile is living in their midst. (1) Why is it that only a select few police officers can access this golden list of paedophiles on the sex register? (2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY
I refer to the Attorney General’s interview with Geoff Hutchison on ABC radio on 5 July 2006 about the release into the community of confessed multiple child sex predator Kevin James Lilly when he discussed the child sex offender register. The Attorney General was asked by Mr Hutchison how he could assure the people of Bullsbrook and the parents of Bullsbrook kids that all are safe. He was also asked by Mr Hutchison how he could quell community concern and anxiety that they have access to his paedophile register so that they will know whether a paedophile is living in their midst. (1) Why is it that only a select few police officers can access this golden list of paedophiles on the sex register? (2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(1) Why is it that only a select few police officers can access this golden list of paedophiles on the sex register? (2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(1) Why is it that only a select few police officers can access this golden list of paedophiles on the sex register? (2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(2) Is it not true that schools, local authorities and any children’s organisation cannot, and will never be able to, have access to the information on that register? That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
That is correct. It is not funny; I am sorry that the member opposite is laughing. I will continue. (3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(3) Is it not true that even parliamentarians will never be able to know or check whether a convicted paedophile has been placed on the register, and that, even if we did know, we would face imprisonment of up to 10 years for revealing that information? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
(1)-(3) I think that the member’s information is incorrect. Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : No, I have been looking at the act. Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : I think that the member’s information is incorrect. I understand that the police, in the interests of public safety, have a measure of discretion to take action to advise people - Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : Yes, but it is not automatic. Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mrs M.H. Roberts : The commissioner does. Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : Who is he giving the information to? Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : On the best of my information, and it has been confirmed by the former police minister, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to make information available to a school or another group to protect public safety, and that is how it should be. I reinforce the view that was expressed by the Premier in answer to an earlier question. The sex offender register came into effect only last year. It is a new innovation designed to do one thing, and that is to protect our children and our community. Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Ms S.E. Walker : To protect paedophiles. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Do not be silly. It was designed to protect the community and to give police knowledge of where paedophiles are so that the police can monitor them and impose conditions upon them and, therefore, be better able to protect people, rather than, as was the case prior to last year, have people be released from prison after they had done their time and be completely unsupervised so that no-one had any idea where they were and the ability of the police was limited. The existing register keeps police informed. A dedicated group of police are working on this issue; therefore, the police are able to know the whereabouts of, monitor and control paedophiles, and better protect people. That is the objective of the sex offender register. As the Premier has pointed out, and as I reported on the radio program to which the member has referred, the police have constantly advised us that people would simply disappear - they would go interstate or overseas - if their addresses, names and those sorts of details were identified. I think that the public is best protected by making sure that the police can monitor and control the activities and movements of paedophiles. That is what I think should be done. That is also the view of the Commissioner of Police and others. I accept the view they have put forward. We on this side of the house are always prepared to look at anything that will be effective. If something is demonstrated to offer greater protection to the community, we will embrace it. The advice we have at this stage from the experts in the field, whose advice we respect and accept, is that it will be counter-productive.
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