Interesting to see where the 'Hang Pell' brigade sit with this.
Outrage as Labor blocks mandatory terms for pedophiles (paywalled)
Labor has blocked attempts to impose mandatory minimum sentencing for child sex offenders after teaming up with the Greens in the Senate to strip the provisions from the government’s new child protection laws.
The move prompted condemnation from Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who accused Labor of backing “pedophiles over Australian kids”. While Labor voted for the bill, it used a procedural motion to strip out mandatory minimum sentencing, setting up a showdown, with the government on Monday night saying it would send the bill back to the Senate to be voted on again.
Labor succeeded with the support of the Greens, Centre Alliance and Tasmanian independent Jacqui Lambie in blocking provisions that would have imposed minimum terms of five to seven years for the worst offences. “It is one of the worst acts I have seen in my 20 years in parliament,” Mr Dutton said. “Anthony Albanese needs to look parents in the eye and explain his betrayal of them. Labor has backed pedophiles over Australian kids.”
Labor let the bill pass the lower house but has maintained opposition to the mandatory sentencing provisions and warned last week it would be seeking to remove them in the Senate. “Child sex crime is something that is beyond comprehension, and it is something that should be stamped out,” Mr Albanese said last week. “We will assist in any way possible.”
The sentencing provisions were a 2019 election commitment but are opposed by groups including the Law Council, whose president Pauline Wright on Monday described mandatory terms as “abhorrent to the whole notion of sentencing”. In the Senate, Labor’s Murray Watt said: “Mandatory sentencing is wrong in principle, does nothing to reduce or deter crime and, worst of all, it has adverse consequences.”
He said Labor supported other elements of the bill, including powers to revoke parole for pedophiles in the interest of community safety, longer sentences for abuse of children overseas and new grooming offences.
“Labor has a longstanding opposition to mandatory sentencing,” Senator Watts said.
“Mandatory sentencing may sound tough, but there is nothing tough about sentencing measures that make it more difficult to catch, prosecute and convict child sex offenders.
“There is nothing tough about measures that do nothing to reduce crime or criminality. And there is nothing tough about sentencing measures that could, in some cases, result in unjust sentences being handed out to 18 or 19-year-olds.
“Children are the most precious and vulnerable members of our community and Labor will always support strong and effective laws to protect children from abuse and to punish their abusers.”
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the amended bill would be rejected when it returned to the lower house. “Labor has used a procedural tactic to vote down imposing mandatory minimum sentences,” he said. “Given that last year 39 per cent of convicted commonwealth child sex offenders did not spend a single day in jail, it is extremely disappointing that — notwithstanding Anthony Albanese saying in the parliament last week that he and Labor would assist in ‘whatever way necessary’ to toughen penalties against child-sex offenders — in the Senate Labor used procedural tactics to vote against mandatory minimum sentences.”
Outrage as Labor blocks mandatory terms for pedophiles (paywalled)
Labor has blocked attempts to impose mandatory minimum sentencing for child sex offenders after teaming up with the Greens in the Senate to strip the provisions from the government’s new child protection laws.
The move prompted condemnation from Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who accused Labor of backing “pedophiles over Australian kids”. While Labor voted for the bill, it used a procedural motion to strip out mandatory minimum sentencing, setting up a showdown, with the government on Monday night saying it would send the bill back to the Senate to be voted on again.
Labor succeeded with the support of the Greens, Centre Alliance and Tasmanian independent Jacqui Lambie in blocking provisions that would have imposed minimum terms of five to seven years for the worst offences. “It is one of the worst acts I have seen in my 20 years in parliament,” Mr Dutton said. “Anthony Albanese needs to look parents in the eye and explain his betrayal of them. Labor has backed pedophiles over Australian kids.”
Labor let the bill pass the lower house but has maintained opposition to the mandatory sentencing provisions and warned last week it would be seeking to remove them in the Senate. “Child sex crime is something that is beyond comprehension, and it is something that should be stamped out,” Mr Albanese said last week. “We will assist in any way possible.”
The sentencing provisions were a 2019 election commitment but are opposed by groups including the Law Council, whose president Pauline Wright on Monday described mandatory terms as “abhorrent to the whole notion of sentencing”. In the Senate, Labor’s Murray Watt said: “Mandatory sentencing is wrong in principle, does nothing to reduce or deter crime and, worst of all, it has adverse consequences.”
He said Labor supported other elements of the bill, including powers to revoke parole for pedophiles in the interest of community safety, longer sentences for abuse of children overseas and new grooming offences.
“Labor has a longstanding opposition to mandatory sentencing,” Senator Watts said.
“Mandatory sentencing may sound tough, but there is nothing tough about sentencing measures that make it more difficult to catch, prosecute and convict child sex offenders.
“There is nothing tough about measures that do nothing to reduce crime or criminality. And there is nothing tough about sentencing measures that could, in some cases, result in unjust sentences being handed out to 18 or 19-year-olds.
“Children are the most precious and vulnerable members of our community and Labor will always support strong and effective laws to protect children from abuse and to punish their abusers.”
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the amended bill would be rejected when it returned to the lower house. “Labor has used a procedural tactic to vote down imposing mandatory minimum sentences,” he said. “Given that last year 39 per cent of convicted commonwealth child sex offenders did not spend a single day in jail, it is extremely disappointing that — notwithstanding Anthony Albanese saying in the parliament last week that he and Labor would assist in ‘whatever way necessary’ to toughen penalties against child-sex offenders — in the Senate Labor used procedural tactics to vote against mandatory minimum sentences.”