This is unthinkable. A government welfare agency has reunited a pair of pedophiles, long lost mates, together again in years. Thanks to Centrelink, they are pedophiles in arms.
Posted on 09/21/2009 6:34:34 PM PDT by myknowledge
Centrelink has admitted it unwittingly allowed two of Australia's most notorious paedophiles to get back in touch with each other.
Dennis Ferguson wrote to Centrelink asking for his contact details to be passed on to former partner in crime Alexandria Brookes.
The two were convicted and jailed in 1988 for abducting and raping three children in Queensland.
As part of his parole conditions Brookes was banned from having any contact with Ferguson or other paedophiles.
Centrelink will today shut down the In Touch program which gave Ferguson's contact details to Brookes.
It is the latest controversy surrounding Ferguson, who was last week temporarily removed from his new location in the Sydney suburb of Ryde after outrage from residents.
Centrelink general manager Hank Jongen says the In Touch program is being reviewed.
"The first thing I have to say is that I was as shocked by this as anybody, and we are extremely concerned," he said.
Mr Jongen says it's an unacceptable scenario.
"This is the first time to the best of my knowledge that this has occurred. It's really important to understand that the In Touch program has reunited dozens of family and friends over the years," he said.
"In fact it's a very successful program that's widely promoted, especially during missing persons week.
"What normally happens with this program is the person who's trying to track down a missing loved one will write to us. We will then review that case to ensure there's no malice intended.
"If the person in receipt of a Centrelink payment, and we would not normally confirm or deny that, but if a persons in receipt of a Centrelink payment we then contact that person with details of the person making the request.
"It's then entirely up to the missing person to decide what action they're going to take."
As part of its review Centrelink says it may consider asking for better access to criminal records from other Government departments.
The Federal Government says it will carry out a review into the In Touch program.
Minister for Human Services Chris Bowen says it shouldn't have happened.
"This is what the review's all about - to establish what did go wrong in this particular instance and to establish what kind of safeguards, what consultation might need to occur with law and order authorities about individuals," he said.
This is unthinkable. A government welfare agency has reunited a pair of pedophiles, long lost mates, together again in years. Thanks to Centrelink, they are pedophiles in arms.
Why do these people ever see the light of day again? Why are they not executed? They’re like serial killers, they’re not going to stop unless they’re stopped.
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