Australia's new child sex offender register that will name and picture paedophiles could have stopped Daniel Morcombe's killer from following through on his vile fantasies.
That's the stark message from the murdered boy's father, as Daily Mail Australia reveals details of how the Federal Government's revolutionary and controversial new system will work - on the day Prime Minister Scott Morrison called an election for May 18th.
The Government announced that should it be re-elected, it will invest $7.8 million in the paedophile public register that will publish the names, aliases, dates of birth, suburb and general nature of a perpetrators' offending, as well as their photograph, budget papers revealed.
Bruce Morcombe applauded the register as 'the best thing in this year's Budget'. He 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.
Australia's new child sex offender register that will name and picture paedophiles could have stopped Daniel Morcombe's killer from following through on his vile fantasies. Pictured is a mock-up of how it may look
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 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
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
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.'
The Home Affairs minister described child sex offending as a 'global epidemic that is becoming more prevalent and more extreme'.
Mr Dutton said thwarting that exploitation was a key priority of Scott Morrison's government.
'This Government will always fight for the protection of children and this is a battle that we must win.'
Labor says sex offender policy must be based on evidence. A spokesman pointed out Tony Abbott previously declined to pursue the policy.
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
