• e-mail

A controversial $7.8million child sex offender register publishing the names and locations of paedophiles could be given the go-ahead at upcoming government talks.

The register - which was announced by the Coalition in April and will also include offenders' aliases, dates of birth and general nature of offending - was praised by Daniel Morcombe's father Bruce as 'the best thing in this year's budget'.

Daily Mail Australia can now reveal the government body tasked with masterminding the new scheme is set to report their progress to the Department of Home Affairs at a meeting later this year.

A controversial $7.8million public sex offender register publishing the names and locations of paedophiles could be given the go-ahead at upcoming government talks. Pictured is a mock-up of how it may look

'The Department of Home Affairs has reconvened the National Working Group on Child Sex Offenders,' a departmental spokesman said. 

The working group will relay a status update to two separate councils - the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management and the Council for Attorneys-General. 

When the register was first announced, Bruce Morcombe said his son's murderer Brett Peter Cowan may have had second thoughts if a register had been around when he was offending. 

'Lord willing, he would've been on the register, and he may well have thought, I can't go down the path again because people will recognise me,' Mr Morcombe said. 

A child sex offender registry could have deterred sadistic paedophile Bruce Peter Cowan (left), who abducted, raped and murdered Daniel Morcombe. Right: Child protection advocate Bruce Morcombe

Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton said a 'technical solution' will be found for sex offenders register (mock up above), twelve months after legislation is passed

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has said the new register will let people check 'who's volunteering at the local soccer club or swimming club' and 'keep children safe'. 

The register will be online and will be established by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC). 

How it will work is not yet set in stone. A spokesman for Mr Dutton said a 'technical solution' for the register will be ready a year after a bill passes Parliament.

The registry will get its information from state and territory police, but only if their governments sign off on it, which they are yet to do. 

ACIC already maintains a sex offenders registry which is strictly for police eyes only.

Mr Morcombe said naming child sex offenders would deter them from offending with the scary possibility that their names would be 'put up in lights'.

'That's a good thing, because these predators hide in shadows,' he told Daily Mail Australia.   

This is how simple to use California's child sex offender register is: Users can search a person's name and up comes their name, headshot, physical information and even address

Serial sex offender and murderer Michael Guider (left) will walk free from prison in June. Evil 8 paedophile Ryan Clegg (right) lived hundreds of metres from a school while on bail

Mr Morcombe said 'we'll never know' for sure if Cowan would have done what he did if there was a sex offender register at the time.

But it may have given the predator pause. 

'He may well say, I cannot go down that path again, I have these urges, I can't go there, I must get help.'  

Cowan was twice convicted of sex crimes before abducting Daniel from a bus stop on December 7, 2003. If a scheme existed at the time of his offending, Cowan's pregnant partner would've been able to look into his background too, Mr Morcombe said. 

'She thought he was quite a nice guy,' Mr Morcombe said. 

'She may well have (checked the register) and said "I cannot trust you, I do not want you in my life - and it's all over''.

Mr Morcombe admitted the list would not name all offenders, given victims are often related to perpetrators, creating legal problems surrounding identification.  

But the child safety advocate is confident it will have a positive impact. 

'It does give the opportunity for a single mum who is looking for a new partner in her life to actually meet and greet somebody ... and to actually go home and in the privacy of her own home, check up to see whether he is a past offender.  

'I challenge anybody to say that’s not a good thing.' 

Mr Morcombe has warned that the last state to sign up to the register would become the preferred destination of child sex offenders, who would 'get in the car' and travel to the state where they felt less threatened. 

'Once one (state) comes up, the rest will follow'. 

'VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU': DERRYN HINCH SLAMS CHILD PROTECTION ADVOCATE FOR OPPOSING PAEDOPHILE REGISTER

Journalist turned Senator Derryn Hinch, one of the sex offender register's most fierce advocates, has slammed Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston for opposing the scheme.  

Senator Derryn Hinch said he was 'very disappointed' in child protection advocate Hetty Johnston, who is opposing the register

Mr Hinch tweeted Ms Johnston saying disclosure schemes worked in the US and the UK.  

'Parents have a right to know,' Hinch tweeted. 

'Very disappointed in you my friend'. 

Ms Johnston told Daily Mail Australia the law is 'flawed' and a 'waste' of taxpayers' money. 

'If these people are so dangerous that we need to spend $7.8 million of taxpayers' money to tell us what suburb they live in, they shouldn't even be on our streets,' she said. 

'I want to know where child sex offenders are and that is behind bars where they can never have access to children again.

'There is no research anywhere in the world that says the proposed model works and, worse still, it gives people a false sense of security.'

She highlighted a number of 'flaws' in the proposed registry such as only having access to the identity of registered child sex offenders - which are just a small percentage of paedophiles that are ever known to police.

She also pointed out that the majority of offenders are people trusted by children, such as relatives or family friends.

'I understand why people want this, I want to know where they are too,' Ms Johnston told Daily Mail Australia.

'But we've researched it and found it (the register) does not work. 

'I'm really unsure why the minister has chosen a model that does not work.' 

She urged the Federal Government to adopt Western Australia's register model, which is based on the UK's 'Sarah's Law' - allowing the community to contact police if they are concerned about a person in their child's life. 

Mr Hinch tweeted that the register finding its way into the budget is 'giant step forward ... the reason I founded the Justice Party. States get on board'.    

HOW IT WORKS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 

Sarah Payne

The United Kingdom has Sarah's Law. 

The law, which came about after a campaign by the News of the World newspaper, is named for eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was abducted and murdered in 2000. 

The man who killed Sarah lived eight kilometres away from where she was taken.  

Under the law, police can disclose someone's criminal record for child sex offences to parents, carers and guardians.

They can disclose the information if it is in the interests of protecting a child from harm. 

Miss Payne's parents first proposed the law so parents could be aware of child sex offenders living near their homes.

HOW IT WORKS IN THE UNITED STATES 

Megan Kanka

The United States has Megan's Law. 

It was signed into law by Bill Clinton after the murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka at the hands of a convicted sex offender. 

The little girl's family did not know they were living near the killer, who was sharing a home with two other sex offenders. 

States such as California now have searchable websites where concerned citizens can search the names of child sex offenders.

Pictures, crimes, distinguishing features and even addresses of sex offenders are freely available online, provided users agree to terms and conditions.  

Users can also search a ten mile radius of their home to see if they live near a sex offender.