12/01/2011
By Courtney Trenwith
The public will have access to the details of serious sex offenders after bi-partisan support saw the government's proposed register pass State Parliament's lower house.
The Labor Party agreed to support the bill out of fear it would be branded weak on sex offenders but said it fell short of offering adequate protection for children.
- We have people passing draconian laws that won't work, simply because they don't want to look "soft on crime?" That is like someone saying, "Ok, let's let Muslims do whatever they want, we don't want to look like we are Islamophobics." PR run amok!
The online register will include three tiers.
Sex offenders who have gone underground will have their photograph, date of birth, physical description, name and known aliases published in what will be known as tier one.
Tier two would make the public aware of repeat or highly dangerous sex offenders in their area by making photographs available of those living in their postcode and adjoining postcodes.
Offenders will receive 21 days' notice that their image and location will be made available on the website, and can lodge an objection with the police commissioner.
Tier three will allow guardians to request information about a specific person who has access to their child at least three days per year.
Applicants must provide their full details, the identity of the person of interest and the level of contact that person has with the child.
Opposition police spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said Labor still had numerous reservations about the register, most notably that it would send WA sex offenders interstate, while those who committed offences elsewhere would not be subject to the same scrutiny.
"[There's] strong suggestion that other states will no longer share information of offenders moving interstate with us, so potentially you could have sex offenders moving [without knowing]," Ms Quirk said.
"[Instead of] increasing community safety it could in fact compound the existing problem."
Ms Quirk said the notion was not fanciful. When NSW became the first state to introduce similar legislation it saw an exodus of paedophiles to Queensland.
- Once again we have an article talking about sex offenders in general, but Ms. Quirk seems to think all sex offenders are pedophiles. That would be like me saying, "All Politicians are corrupt, evil, egomaniacs, who would do anything to further their own careers and paycheck," which is of course not true
"The whole system breaks down if that is allowed to occur," she said.
Opposition spokesman on legal affairs John Quigley claimed the register would have minimal effect because it would only apply to 2 per cent of the state's 2500 sex offenders.
He emphasised that Labor viewed the register as only one step in an incremental development of laws to protect children.
Member for Armadale Tony Buti said while he supported the register, increasing the reporting rate would have greater impact.
"Unless we improve the reporting rate this legislation is going to have minimal effect," he said.
"We need to provide comfort to child victims that they will be supported by the state."
Police Minister Rob Johnson has said safeguards, such as records of people accessing the website and strict penalties if information is misused, would be in place to ensure the register was used appropriately.
- I highly doubt that.
The legislation is expected to be passed by the upper house next year.
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