Two North East women who spent the last year advocating for more supervision of sex offenders have been credited with influencing the first step of tougher parole conditions.
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Wodonga’s Carol Roadknight and Wangaratta’s Tania Maxwell were praised by Ovens Valley MLA Tim McCurdy in Victorian Parliament this week.
The legislation would ban anyone being released on parole who killed a police officer or refused to reveal the location of a body.
Mr McCurdy said it was not right to put a different value on the lives of police.
“Murder should mean murder, whether it is the murder of a police officer, a shopkeeper, a mother like Karen Chetcuti of Whorouly - whose murder early this year rocked our community - or a child like Zoe Buttigieg in Wangaratta,” he said. “A life is a life.”
Ms Roadknight and Ms Maxwell have organised “enough is enough” rallies response to deadly violence in the region and have met with politicians in Melbourne.
“It is a clear illustration that somebody living in the bush who has got a burning passion can certainly seek to get some changes made,” Mr McCurdy said.
“This legislation only goes a small way in acknowledging the parole reform that they are looking for and there is more to be done.”
He urged the government to look at strengthening parole for sex offenders next.
The proposed laws meant felons like Ned Kelly, hanged for murder in 1880, would these days be locked up without hope of parole.
Mr McCurdy said his seat in Kelly country meant he was “certainly well qualified to speak on this bill”.
“He is well known in the history books for his approach towards police officers; the multiple murders in Stringybark Creek go back a long time,” he said.
“Protecting our police should be an absolute priority - there is no question about that at all.”
