NSW's police minister has declared he'd like to "take the nuts off" convicted child sex offenders when announcing a plan to overhaul the state's sentencing and parole system.
Convicted child sex offenders would be able to volunteer for chemical castration under the reforms unveiled by the NSW government on Tuesday.
The suite of changes would ease overcrowding in prisons, reduce court delays and ensure dangerous criminals are rigorously supervised once released from jail, the Berejiklian government says.
Police Minister Troy Grant offered his own suggestion on how to best deal with child sex offenders.
"If I had my way .. I would take their nuts off," he told reporters in Sydney.
"But this (reform agenda) is the appropriate way."
Under the plan, child sex offenders would be able to seek chemical castration when applying for parole, a process that would involve taking anti-libidinal medication.
"This is a step in the right direction to make sure the kids in our community will be safe from those predators," Mr Grant said.
Greens MP David Shoebridge was quick to criticise the idea, labelling it an "18th-century" proposal.
"They say it's voluntary now but clearly they want to go to a path of compulsory chemical castration, which is deeply troubling," he told AAP on Tuesday.
"I thought we'd moved beyond 18th-century criminal justice concepts in 21st century Australia."
Mr Grant's "take their nuts off" comment was an appalling misuse of his position as police minister, the Greens MP said.
"The premier needs to haul him into line."
Opposition Leader Luke Foley has given "in-principle" support for the idea but says he needs to see more detail.
"I'm open to good policy ideas that will deal with these creeps and criminals," he said.
The Labor leader also called on the government to make its proposed "no body, no parole" provisions mandatory.
"I don't see how you can have a system where someone who's convicted of murder, refuses to tell us where they've put the body, and they are still eligible for parole - that's nuts".
A 25 per cent discount for accused people who plead guilty early in the Local Court is another proposal aimed at reducing the backlog of trials at the District Court stage.
"Ineffective" suspended sentences will also be abolished in favour of programs offering more supervision in the community with more than $200 million to be spent on an additional 200 corrections officers.
"This is all about faster justice - justice delayed is justice denied," Attorney-General Mark Speakman said on Tuesday.
The changes will be introduced early next year following consultation with relevant stakeholder groups, he said.
CHEMICAL CASTRATION
Jokowi defends chemical castration for paedophiles
