Sex offender list closer

States discussing plan to expose paedophiles

A NATIONAL public sex offender register is a step closer after the states agreed to consider creating an online database to protect children from convicted paedophiles.

State and federal police ministers have signed a communique to establish a working group on the proposal to name and shame child abusers and will report back by the end of the year.

It came after Justice Party MP Stuart Grimley successfully moved a motion to hold a state parliamentary inquiry into how a Victorian register could set up an online database to find out if a convicted childsex offender lives in their area.

Federal Assistant Minister for Community Safety Jason Wood said he welcomed the move in the Victorian parliament, but a national register was needed.

“Our simple view is we must protect children and they come first,” Mr Wood said.

“The national register is obviously the way to go for the simple reason that if someone moves between states and territories we want to make sure the states, police and parents are informed.”

Mr Wood said the commonwealth wanted as much information as possible to be made public, including names and home addresses, while the states and territories were pushing back.

Victorian Police Minister and Bellarine MP Lisa Neville told 3AW the inquiry would help inform the best way to move forward.

“We support looking at this through the parliamentary committee,” she said.

“At the recent ministerial council for police, a national one, we had a conversation about that and we have asked the working group up there to look at it, whether a national public register would be effective. There is certainly mixed views amongst the states.”

Ms Neville said vigilantism was a concern as well as a fear predators could be pushed “underground” and could be prompted to reoffend.

“We have to make sure we are making things safer,” she said. “Obviously we all want to protect children but we want to make sure we are doing it in the right way.”