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Controversial animosity clause in Tasmanian sex offender reforms cut
The Tasmanian government responded to the controversy around its plan to criminalise the incitement of animosity towards registered sex offenders by scrapping a key clause altogether.
Naomi Neilson
As part of a reform of the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Bill, the Tasmanian government proposed a clause that would make it a criminal offence to breach the confidentiality of a registered sex offender or incite animosity or harassment towards them.
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Proposed penalties for those found to have made threats, abused, or severely ridiculed a person on the sex offenders registry would have included substantial fines and up to two years imprisonment.
But after the bill was sent out for consultation, the Tasmanian public reacted with significant concern about what this would mean for the victim-survivors who will come forward with their stories.
Minister for police Felix Ellis said he heard their concerns and said the word “animosity” would be removed from the final bill.
“Community feedback to the draft bill is exactly how a consultation phase should work so that it results in the toughest oversight on sex offenders to empower caregivers with information to protect their children from sex offenders,” Mr Ellis said.
“Ultimately, this bill will ensure Tasmania leads the nation when it comes to child protection.”
The proposed reforms could make it possible for the parents and guardians to apply for information about whether a person who has regular and unsupervised contact with their child is registered.
It will also ensure the information on the register is freely available to agencies involved in monitoring offenders or involved in child protection to “better enable prevention of child abuse”.
The consultation period will end in mid-February.
