Draconian scheme to stop changing names

Convicted sex offenders who try to change their names to avoid detection will be stopped under a new national proposal.

Under the scheme, sex offenders will be forced to inform prison and parole authorities if they try to change their names.

New South Wales Justice Minister John Hatzistergos says the proposal will introduce an important safeguard by ensuring sex offenders are unable to avoid authorities.

"It's important that authorities be able to continue to be able to track these offenders and ensure that they remain identified to them," he said.

"To that extent, these proposals will enable us to safeguard the community by ensuring that sex offenders are effectively unable to change their identity in a way that can evade detection.

"We'll have a similar system in place across the country so that a person isn't able to effectively change their name in another jurisdiction and then escape or evade supervision by going underground."

Quote: First they came for the sex offenders because they were the most likely unpopular people in the land, then they came for the rest of us in the minimum secure prison planet. Food for thought.

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