Six-year-old Pia, Paulina and Markus (LtoR) pose on their first day at the Marienfelde Klepert elementary school in Berlin August 25, 2003. German consumer protection Minister Renate Kuenast visited the school children during their first day at school and
Six-year-old Pia, Paulina and Markus (LtoR) pose on their first day atthe Marienfelde Klepert elementary school in Berlin August 25, 2003.German consumer protection Minister Renate Kuenast visited the schoolchildren during their first day at school and distributed organiclunchboxes. Reuters/Manuela Hartling

The Northern Territory government will introduce a bill in the parliament on Tuesday which focuses on the creation of an online sex offenders register that ensures children are protected against sexual abuse and manslaughter acts. No other Australian government has yet supported such a controversial law as there is no evidence whether such programs, if implemented, are effective.

Attorney General and Minister for Justice John Elferink announced the introduction of the bill on Monday. He has decided to name it Daniel’s Law, after Daniel Morcombe, a victim of sex abuse who was murdered by his offender in 2003. The Daniel’s Law sex offenders register will contain the details of child sex offenders, including the general address of the offenders as well as the victims, the minister said.

A panel, comprising the police commissioner, the correctional services commissioner and the chief executive of the Department of the Attorney General and Justice, will approve all listings on the register. The register will have the names of reportable offenders who have gone missing after committing a crime, while offenders from other states who have become residents of Northern Territory will also be listed.

“We don’t have a national murderers register, we don’t have a national thieves register, we don’t have a national white-collar criminals register,” said then Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the Council of Australian Governments in Oct. 2014, where all other Australian governments refused the proposal, as reported by The Guardian .

Elferink advocated his proposal by saying that the NT government is focused on protecting children and assuring parents of providing awareness about potential dangers.”There was criticism of this legislation when it was introduced in America under the guise of Megan’s Law ... But one state did it, then another state did it. Now all 50 states have an equivalent,” he told the media via australasianlawyer.com .

On Dec. 7, 2003, Daniel Morcombe was abducted by former resident of Sunshine Coast, Brett Peter Cowan. Cowan was charged with abusing and murdering the 13-year-old Daniel, and in March 2014, was found guilty of mistreating a child and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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