Charisa Bossinakis
Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan has called for paedophiles to be punished with the death penalty in Australia.
The conservative leader told the Daily Mail that harsher penalties are needed for those who sexually abuse children and feels life imprisonment is ‘too soft’.
“We really should consider the death penalty for people this that have ruined so many other lives,” he said.
The Senator’s comments come after a former childcare worker was charged with 1,623 child abuse offences against 91 children this week.
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The Gold Coast man was charged with 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, as per the ABC News.
“I was just absolutely shocked at the vileness and evilness of this conduct and also just the scale of it and how this happened over so many years to so many people and why wasn't it stopped,” said Mr Canavan.
“There has to be a proper inquiry here about how information was shared, why this couldn't have been stopped earlier and how can we make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again.”
He went on to describe life imprisonment as merely a ‘slap on the wrists’.
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Mr Canavan said while a public discourse needs to happen to debate the topic, one thing’s for certain, more needs to be done.
“This is so bad there has to be in my mind something even stronger than life imprisonment,” he added.
Similarly, last year fellow conservative Pauline Hanson called for convicted paedophiles to be chemically castrated.
The One Nation leader said she wants to see a national public sex offender registry implemented so families can be aware of the dangers potentially lurking in their neighbourhood.
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"People are very concerned about their children's safety and they want strong laws and penalties for those convicted of paedophilia," Ms Hanson told the Daily Mail.
"I support chemical castration and tougher penalties for paedophiles, and the establishment of a national database of paedophiles.
"For sex offences not involving children, I consider it appropriate for the presiding magistrate or judge to determine the appropriate penalty under the relevant law."
Andrew Carpenter, who represents victims in civil cases, echoed a similar sentiment to Hanson’s, explaining that a national database of child sex offenders should be accessible to protect the public.
“No one is safe without knowing who is around them,” he told the Courier Mail.