By Mitch Gaynor
CALOUNDRA MP Kendall Morton has spoken about her personal experience of child sexual assault as Queensland Parliament passed laws establishing the state’s first public child sex offender register.
Ms Morton told the chamber she rose “in strong support” of the Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register (Daniel’s Law) Bill 2025 and paid tribute to Bruce and Denise Morcombe.
Named in honour of Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, whose abduction and murder in 2003 sparked two decades of advocacy, the law introduces a three-tiered disclosure scheme empowering parents and carers to protect children from convicted offenders.
The Community Protection and Child Sex Offender Public Register is due to go live by the end of the year. Tier 1 will list offenders who have breached reporting obligations, Tier 2 allows residents to view photographs of reportable offenders in their local area, and Tier 3 permits parents to check whether someone in contact with their child is a known offender.
Ms Morton recounted the impact on her family after her then six-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted in January 2016.
“With a four-year-old, a two-year-old and a newborn, I never would have put two and two together about the events of that day,” she told Parliament, describing changes in the child’s behaviour and the family’s search for help.
“There were other people around, it was broad daylight and it was not a stranger. What I did know, though, was that just four weeks later, when school returned for the new school year and she was entering Year 2, she was all of a sudden terrified to be left at a place she had always been safe and thrived.
“This once-confident, happy little girl was, out of nowhere, hiding under desks and crying—happy at home, not happy away from home.”
“My daughter is not defined by this, but it has definitely had a significant impact in different ways over time,” she said. “Victims live a battle of weighing up chasing justice versus healing themselves and the journey is individual and complex.”
She said the register would “arm adults with the tools to remain vigilant in keeping our community safe”, and acknowledged it did not remove all risk but represented a meaningful step.
Ms Morton paid tribute to Laurel Place in Maroochydore, saying its counselling had a profound impact on her family.
Supporters said the register will make it harder for offenders to hide and give families practical information. Critics raised concerns about privacy and the potential effect on rehabilitation, prompting debate about how to balance community safety with legal safeguards.
Parliament endorsed the bill with the register expected to go live later this year.
