Remove Dr James Manwaring from the Medical Register

HERVEY Bay’s James Manwaring is set to continue his controversial career after the Medical Board of Australia faced down direct ministerial criticism over its handling of his case and renewed his registration to practice. Dr Manwaring pleaded guilty to and was convicted of rape, attempted rape, deprivation of liberty, three assaults occasioning bodily harm and one common assault in the Brisbane District Court on September 2, 2002. He served time in prison for those crimes and had his registration cancelled on July 19, 2005, by the now defunct Health Practitioners Tribunal as a result of those convictions. Dr Manwaring was struck off the medical register for the first time in 1994 for drug addiction and misconduct. After serving jail time, Dr Manwaring was re-registered for the second time in 2006 and has continued to practice with conditions attached to his registration. If a person has a criminal conviction for assault, they cannot obtain a security providers license or a Private Investigators license. If a person has a conviction for assault, they cannot become a Justice of the Peace. If either gain the conviction for assault whilst they are license holders, they lose their license. If a doctor is convicted of pedophilia, they lose their license and are never able to practice again. If a police officer rapes a person, they are dealt with in court and are no longer a member of the Queensland Police Service. So WHY is a convicted rapist allowed to practice as a Medical Doctor? We the communities of Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Fraser Coast demand that 'Dr' Manwaring be removed from the Medical Register. Community expectations are high for our doctors and we object to the personal risk that the Medical Practitioners Board and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency is placing us in by allowing a convicted rapist to practice as a member of the medical profession. Having 'restrictions' placed on his license is not enough community protection from any rapist.