Sounds like a great recipe for creating thousands of professional employment opportunities. It won't lessen the incidence of pedophilia though - and might even lead to tacit encouragement, or at least to the discouraging of more effective sanctions, since there will be a large body of folk whose jobs depend on there being a goodly number of pedophiles to assess, rehabilitate, etc. Mind you, I don't know the answer, I just reckon this isn't it.

The author rules out transportation -- but why? There are plenty of uninhabited islands within Australian territorial waters where wrong-doers could be marooned with a container-load of farming supplies and enough food to get them through the first year. Segregate the genders, perhaps, to avoid producing children, and appoint a frigate to cruise around and intercept escapees -- the whole thing would probably work out a lot cheaper than the overcrowded and regimented prisons we currently maintain. An ideal solution, surely?

Jon j Transportation! It's already been tried, ever heard of Australia.

'Understandably, paedophilia excites public rage and condemnation; the violation of the innocent and the vulnerable, and the psychological damage which can tragically burden their lives.'

It does not necessarily follow that because there is public rage and condemnation that it is because of the harm being done to the innocent and vulnerable. There is a very common phenomenon in human behaviour called projection. Many of those who rage and condemn could well be projecting on to the paedophile the rage and condemnation belonging to a close relative. It is very hard to admit that you have been a victim of sexual abuse by someone close to you and for whom you may have great affection. The feelings associated with such abuse remain in the victim until they are accurately identified and appropriate blame is associated. In the meantime they often surface as rage against a more ‘distant’ perpetrator which is less disturbing but totally ineffective for the victim.

Similarly, people who are perpetrators of sexual abuse know unconsciously that their behaviour is very damaging. These perpetrators are often abusing their own children and the revulsion they feel for the paedophile can be an outpouring of what they unconsciously feel about their own behaviour. As well as perpetrators there are those who knowingly turn a blind eye to the sexual abuse in families because it threatens their own emotional security. These people can also project their guilt on to the ‘evil’ paedophile.

Governments who react towards hysteria associated with paedophiles are reacting in a very simplistic fashion and without regard for the complexities of human emotion. The raised level of hysteria does not necessarily mean that sexual abuse is a worse crime than any other crime. It may just mean that there is a lot more sexual abuse happening in society that has not been labelled as criminal.

Well in my opinion, the guy has been convicted of a crime and served his time.

Now if the sentance was insuficient for the crime, then there are plenty of avenues for which the authorities can have a sentance re-evaluated.

So in essence, 'the mob' should be protesting the law makers that make the laws, not the person who has served their time, as set by the law makers.

But then the media won't sell as amny papers, or have as many viewers will they!

I think a civil case should be brought against the media in the case of DF, as it is they who have fueled this outrage. No cameras, little interest.

Many people, myself included, had never heard of the guy before his release from prison and the media storm that followed.

What about the guy who held 'his own' daughter captive for 30 years and fathered several children to her. Why is he not being hounded or having his name splashed all over the place.

A hundred years ago in Australia, convicted kidnappers and child molesters like Dennis Ferguson would have been hung. There would be no scenes of so called vigilantes persecuting Ferguson, nor would the view that "he did the crime,he served his time and so he should be allowed back into the community" been heard. The community knew that one possible threat to the safety and well-being of its children had been removed.
The gradual removal of the death penalty for all crimes however has created serious problems for the administration of law relating to sexual crimes particularly those committed against children; " Paedophiles are usually long term, repeat offenders. They tend to engage in predictable sexual activity, and their past history is likely to be a good indicator of future behaviour." Aust Inst. of Criminology.
The target group for paedophiles is certainly much wider and much more personal than the groups targeted by murderers, armed robbers or crooked company executives. Hence the general and real concern of the community about the presence of convicted paedophiles (and rapists) amongst it.
I have no objections to the learned QC's call for more research into the causes of and possible treatments for paedophilia but until the findings of such research can result in ways to remove the risk of recidivism of convicted paedophiles then society has little choice than to keep them incarcerated.

Well the debate would be more useful if all those concerned about them living in their community were also commited to serious action to remove access to porn which is the breeding ground for this deparved behaviour which dramaticly alters attitudes and behaviour to the lasting damage of themselves and their victims.

Phanto is right on the money.

The same analysis can be applied to other contentious public issues.

A friend of mine works for the prison system.

He asserts that most people would be horrified if they knew how many around them, on a beach one sunny Sunday for example, have been released from prison.

What if parents in the area taught their kids to stay away from him --just like they would with traffic, snakes, spiders, large dogs, herbicides, medicines, swimming pools etc etc etc.

The average City-Dwelling-Parent won't even let their precious offspring walk or ride a bicycle to school. Just one of the myriad of reasons why the average 18 year old male has the maturity of a 13 year old a couple of decades ago.

Or even more radical, teach their 5 year old how to execute a two fingered eye jab or a palm heel to the nose. Or is it against the law for 5 year old to protect themselves in NSW?

People love to hate someone for some reason.

The Greens are experts in tilling this emotional garden.

There is a real opportunity here. Australia was founded primarily upon convict stock shipped out from Britain; the same people have now created a Nation that is a now a most desirable destination that leads the G20 economies in spite of the GFC. There is a moral here somewhere, and an opportunity; we can help ourselves and the rest of the world.

We now find ourselves with a surplus of the humanity that created Australia; why not ship our “surplus to requirements” to the rest of the world? We can send them “free on board” in containers, a few air holes drilled in of course; let’s face it that’s how most migrants seem to arrive in Europe nowadays.

Suggested categories might include, but not be restricted to:

• Drug Dealers
• Drug users
• Gay Priests
• Pedophiles
• Murderers
• Rapists
• Serial killers
• Solicitors
• Family Court Barristers
• Corrupt Police
• Corrupt Police Commissioners (one only in stock, Sir Terrence Lewis)
• Corrupt Judges/Magistrates
• Union Officials
• Human Rights Activists
• Greens
• Social Democrats
• Lobbyists
• Bankrupt Financiers
• Petty Bureaucrats
• Self Sustainability basket weavers and fruit juice drinkers
• Social Security Abusers
• Indigenous Peoples’ “Social Engineers”
• Emotionally Obsessive and Cheque Book Journalists

John Spender rules out transportation however, since it has proved to be so effective in the past, why not?

Have to agree with phanto that the hysteria surrounding pedophelia 'may just mean that there is a lot more sexual abuse happening in society that has not been labelled as criminal'.

Young women are in a privileged position to learn a little of the 'ways and means' of men - and often the hard way.

But because they are not children, they are seen as fair and legal game.

"The raised level of hysteria does not necessarily mean that sexual abuse is a worse crime than any other crime. It may just mean that there is a lot more sexual abuse happening in society that has not been labelled as criminal."
Er Phanto could you please elaborate. Please give some examples of sexual abuse that has not been labelled as criminal.
We are dealing with sexual abuse of children. It seems that the life-long impact of such abuse may indeed be worse than death.

Blaibar –‘Please give some examples of sexual abuse that has not been labelled as criminal.’ I mean that is not labelled criminal until someone is charged and it is out in the open.

‘We are dealing with sexual abuse of children. It seems that the life-long impact of such abuse may indeed be worse than death.’

Since we have no evidence to tell us what it is like being dead we can not say that anything is better or worse than it.

Some people suggest that sexual abuse is worse than other types of abuse. This often says more about their attitudes to sex than it does about their attitudes to abuse. The results speak for themselves. There are some very broken people in our society that were never victims of sexual abuse but suffered other types of abuse. There are also many fine human beings who have overcome sexual abuse and gone on to lead fulfilling and happy lives. It is not logical to make sweeping assertions and that in itself can be a sign of an emotional response rather than a reasonable one.

Blairbar
"A hundred years ago convicted kidnappers would have been hung in Australia"
Not so, Australia had no law of kidnap until after the Graham Thorne case back in the 1960's
That was the real outcry in this country back then as the whole country was for drawing and quartering the bloke
He answered to every conceivable crime that they could impose on him but he never answered the crime of kidnap
Peadophiles should just be castrated with primative tools and banished from the tribe
Have a good life from Dave

Well I would say that there would be very few people my age, touching 50, that do not know of someone who was interfeared with as a child, either from their extended family, or another family, yet, very little is ever done about these monsters.

Surely a father that molests his own daugter is more of a preditor than a common Pedophile, given he amount of trust she would have given him.

Now as for the death penilty.
The american government is currently in hot water as DNA evidence is now proving that the wrong people were excicuted and the law suits are building.

I say again, by all means lobby the law makers, but not the ones who have served their time.