Sussan Ley urges states to ‘step up’ on safety at childcare centres, vows to work ‘constructively’ with Labor

Sussan Ley says the Coalition “stands ready” to work “constructively” with Labor to enact stronger childcare policies and called on the states to “step up”. This comes after Victorian childcare workers Joshua Brown, 26, was hit with 70 child abuse charges. On Wednesday, a 21-year-old Queensland man was also charged with indecent treatment of a child at a Brisbane childcare centre. Speaking from Moreton Bay, Queensland, the Opposition Leader said parents “don’t have the confidence” or the “faith and trust” in centres to look after their children and keep them safe. “Our children are precious and it is disgusting and unacceptable that these incidences have taken place, and it makes me feel physically sick every time I hear of something,” she said. “It’s our young children and babies who are at risk in childcare centres with these hideous individuals on the loose.” Education Minister Jason Clare is set to introduce new legislation that will allow the Commonwealth to pull funding from centres that are not complying with standards and allow anti-fraud officers to undertake snap investigations without a warrant or police presence. Ms Ley vowed to work “constructively” to pass the legislation. While she held off commenting on whether she had confidences in Victorian police following reports authorities had been contacted after Mr Brown was sacked from a Melbourne childcare centre due to a complaint from a parent and alleged mishandling of an incident report, Ms Ley said states needed to do more. “So I simply say this, we have to do better. State governments have to do better when it comes to the working with children checks, which I understand are the most lax in Victoria right now,” she said. “So it isn’t good enough for state governments to sit around the table and talk about uniform legislation so that individuals can be tracked across state boundaries but not actually act on that,” she added, backing a national register for childcare workers. Mr Clare has also supported a national database, which would be led by the states. On Wednesday, he said legislation for the stronger childcare laws was “almost finalised” and the funding threat was the “biggest stick that the Commonwealth has to wield”. “What I’m hoping is that that threat is going to be strong enough to get the boards of these companies or the investors in these companies to sit up and listen and realise that we’re serious here and if you don’t meet the standard, then the funding will be cut off,” he told the ABC. Centres found to be not meeting safety standards would also be publicly named and shamed through an online register. The Coalition has also confirmed it’s been briefed on the proposed legislation; however, opposition education and early learning spokeswoman Zoe McKenzie voiced concern the proposed Bill may not go far enough. “The government’s foremost responsibility now is to keep our children safe. Parents, who rely on early learning centres across Australia so they can participate in the workforce, are calling on governments to provide that confidence,” Ms McKenzie said. “The government must ensure its proposed legislation improves safety and removes the risk of this ever happening again.”