Page 2075 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 8 May 2012
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Finally, this bill will provide for mutual recognition arrangements for orders held over offenders who have been moving between participating jurisdictions and the ACT. At this point New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory are participants in the scheme.
This bill significantly engages the Human Rights Act. To its credit the explanatory statement provides extensive discussion to argue proportionality under the act vis-a-vis the impact of this legislation. Indeed the scrutiny of bills committee made particular mention of that discussion, commending the attorney for it.
The scrutiny committee also raised a number of other issues. I have reviewed the attorney’s response to the scrutiny committee and I consider that he has adequately addressed the issues, including some amendments.
Our children and young people are our community’s most valuable assets. They are our future. Protecting them from the behaviour of a few who do not respect or understand their important status as our future is paramount. This bill contributes and adds to the work already done to provide that protection. The Canberra Liberals are happy to support this work.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (10.07): The Greens will be supporting this bill today as well. These new laws will assist police to prevent child sex crimes before they occur. These laws mean children can be better protected, and that is certainly something I think every member of the Assembly strongly supports.
I would like to start by talking about some of the statistics that were provided to me by the directorate in the briefing. They are somewhat sobering and show that the ACT is not immune from these crimes because of our relatively small size. The statistics are indicative and are based on the best available data, but what they show is that between January 2009 and the end of April this year 33 child sex offenders have entered the adult sex offender program. What that means is that in the last 22 months 33 offenders have been referred to the program—more than one a month.
I cite these statistics to remind us all that we are not immune from crimes of this type and we should not ever pretend that it does not happen here in Canberra. Only by being informed and allowing our police to act on the basis of evidence can we effectively protect our children, and it is because of these statistics that I am glad this law will be passed today.
The current child sex offender register lists certain details of people that have been convicted of a sex crime against a child. These details allow the police to know the whereabouts of offenders and to keep in contact with them to monitor any risky behaviour that the offender engages in. However, what the current register does not allow police to do is act decisively on the basis of that information contained in the register. This is a real gap in the law that was highlighted in the annual report from the Ombudsman last year. The Ombudsman reported that it raised a concern with the minister that the legislation may not be achieving its aim of reducing the likelihood of reoffending. The Ombudsman made a recommendation to the minister that
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