CANBERRA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government launched a passport crackdown Friday on pedophiles travelling overseas.
The initiative, announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, will act as a measure to prevent convicted sex offenders from travelling overseas to sexually assault children.
"What we're talking about is some of the worst grubs you can imagine, they're a disgrace to Australia," Turnbull told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
"We don't want Australians travelling to southeast Asia for these sexual criminal activities."
The announcement comes in the wake of Melbourne man Michael Quinn being sentenced to 12 years' jail in the United States in October after being found guilty of attempting to rape a six-year-old boy.
Derryn Hinch, an independent Senator and former 3AW radio host who spent time in jail for naming alleged pedophiles on air, said he was pleased the government was joining his push to stop men from taking "child-rape holidays."
"Middle-aged men going to Thailand to rape children on a holiday is not in the national interest," Hinch told reporters in Canberra.
Under the current laws, the Foreign Ministry can cancel passports, and has done so for 12 registered sex offenders, but only at the request of police under direction from state governments.
The new legislation, which was first raised by Hinch, would make the process easier for Australia's six states and two territories.
Eight hundred Australian registered sex offenders have travelled overseas in the past year, 300 of those to southeast Asian countries.
