Child sexual abuse offenders to face mandatory federal laws
Child sex offenders will face mandatory minimum sentences upon their conviction under federal laws that have gained Labor support after months of dispute about whether Parliament should impose the changes on the courts.
Labor dropped its objections to the mandatory sentences in a formal vote in the federal caucus on Tuesday that clears the way for tougher sanctions on abuse.
New laws will include mandatory sentences for some people convicted of child sexual abuse.Credit:iStockphoto
But the decision did not prevent Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton attacking Labor in Question Time hours after the decision, saying the Opposition had voted against the government bill.
Mr Dutton’s argument incensed Labor leader Anthony Albanese and caucus members who claimed the minister was not being honest in Parliament about the Opposition’s stance on the contentious bill.
The government introduced the bill last September to impose mandatory minimum penalties for certain Commonwealth child sex offences and amend the Crimes Act to insert a presumption against bail for certain Commonwealth child sex offenders, among other changes.
The Labor Party platform opposes mandatory sentencing out of concern that judges have flexibility to impose sentences as they see fit, but this has left Labor exposed to Mr Dutton’s claims that the party was soft on perpetrators of crimes against children.
In a pragmatic decision, the Labor caucus voted unanimously on Tuesday morning to support the government bill even if it could not be amended to remove the mandatory sentencing provisions.
Labor legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus told MPs they should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good and should not block the bill if it included mandatory sentences.
While a series of MPs spoke on the matter and emphasised the party platform and the independence of the judiciary, the caucus voted for the motion to back the bill.
Mr Dutton accused Labor of trying to stop the changes in the Senate on Monday night when Labor and others sought to amend the bill to remove the mandatory sentencing.
"We wanted to introduce minimum mandatory sentencing for paedophiles, and you opposed it. You opposed it," Mr Dutton told Question Time.
Mr Dutton cited The Daily Telegraph to back his argument, but Labor denied his claims and accused him in turn of misleading Parliament.
"Claiming that members voted in a different way to how they did is dishonest," said Labor workplace spokesman Tony Burke, the manager of Opposition business in the House of Representatives.
"The minister should withdraw and should not be allowed to continue with an answer that he knows is not true."
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Crimes Against Children and Community Protection Measures) Bill was amended in the Senate on Monday night but the government said it would reject those changes.
The government will insist the bill proceeds in its original form, including the mandatory sentencing provisions, and this will force Labor to decide whether to accept the bill on the government’s terms in the lower house.
Given the decision of the Labor caucus on Tuesday morning, the government can expect to pass the bill in its original form when it chooses to put it to the House.