Queensland Health defends paedophile employee

The Queensland Health department has defended its decision to employ a convicted paedophile.

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File (AAP)



According to the ABC, the man was convicted in 1994 for indecent treatment of a child under 16 and now works in the department's mental health section.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman told the ABC that the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) had investigated the matter several years ago and found no problems with employing the man so long as he was assigned a desk job and had no contact with children.

Queensland Health's director-general Tony O'Connell says it would be wrong to discriminate against a person on the basis of a criminal history.

Police Minister Neil Roberts has also spoken out about the matter, stating that people with criminal convictions should be forgiven at some stage and allowed to move on.

"Certainly they need to be held accountable for that," he told ABC Radio. "But we also want people to get back on the straight and narrow and lead productive lives in the community.”

Minister Roberts said it was important to draw a line at some point.

"That's why under current legislation, after a period of time, people are able to not declare certain offences,” he said.




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