Hinch, who only recently passed through Ballarat on his Jail to Justice Walk seeking signatures on a petition that called on federal, state and territory governments to unite in the push for the register, met Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, who said the government would consider introducing a model of the public register of sex offenders.

Hinch, who gathered more than 150,000 signatures on the petition, wrote to all attorneys-general in June seeking support for his proposal.

Tuesday’s Queensland visit comes on the heels of Hinch’s briefing with Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark about the plan.

Hinch has served jail time for naming sex offenders and doesn’t believe they can be rehabilitated.

“Their biggest weapon is secrecy and anonymity,” he said. “Until we’ve got a public register, we don’t own who they are or where they are.”

His plan is gaining momentum, but, as in all arguments, there are two sides to this debate.

The families of people who have been murdered by convicted sex offenders, including Ballarat woman Sharon Siermans, would be relieved something is being done to inform the public a convicted sex offender is living in their neighbourhood. Maybe if there was an active register a few years ago, Sharon might still be alive.

However, there are also people who fear a register would result in the community taking the law into their own hands. Civil libertarians, academics and child protection advocates say a register could push pedophiles underground or result in vigilantism.

Hetty Johnston, the founder of child protection group Bravehearts, says the continued detention of dangerous sex offenders, not a register, is the answer. If experts can prove these sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated, leaving them locked up not only protects the community, but also protects the offender from vigilantism.