Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

Can I thank the member for Fairfax for that question. He knows that the best way to attack criminality, the best way to stop people re-offending is to actually give them prison sentences, to actually have them spend time in prison.

We have legislation that has passed this House and will be dealt with in the other place that is the strongest crackdown on Commonwealth child sex offending ever. The reason we are doing that is that we believe these horrendous criminals should actually spend time in prison. Let me tell members what is the current situation. This is the status quo that the Labor Party supports: 42 per cent of Commonwealth child sex offenders do not spend one day in prison, not one day; and of the 58 per cent—

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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