More than 20 years ago, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe was abducted and murdered by a twice-convicted paedophile in Queensland.
His killer, Brett Cowan, had moved from Darwin to the Sunshine Coast to serve out his sentence.
But Cowan’s sickening crimes were hidden from those he met.
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“That person was under the radar,” Daniel’s father, Bruce Morcombe, told 9News.
That veil of secrecy could soon be lifted, with the Liberal National Party vowing to introduce a public child sex offender register if they win the next election.
“This is about ensuring parents being able to keep their children away from dangerous predators,” Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said.
The register, which would be known as Daniel’s Law, would include a three-tiered system designed to expose those in the community, convicted of abusing children.
It would establish a public website with photographs and personal details of offenders, who have failed to report, or lied to police.
The second tier would be an application-based system to identify high-risk offenders living in a suburb.
The last tier would allow parents to inquire about a specific person who had regular unsupervised contact with their child.
“If you send your child to a friend’s place for a sleepover, you should be able to check if these people are safe for the children to go there,” Daniel’s mother, Denise Morcombe, said.
To discourage vigilantism, the LNP say they would also introduce new laws preventing the misuse of information on the register.
It says only police should take action against people who are listed.
Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said police had not yet considered how the proposal would work, “but resourcing is stretched at the moment:”.
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