State squeezes feds on national CCTV trial in childcare
Callum Godde and Samantha Lock |
A state has vowed to go it alone on trialling CCTV in childcare centres if the federal government cannot quickly wrangle national consensus.
Education ministers from across the nation are due to meet in Sydney on Friday after a state childcare sector review exposed poor information sharing, legal constraints and chronic underfunding in the sector.
The Victorian review made 22 recommendations, including a national trial of CCTV in early childhood education and care settings.
Premier Jacinta Allan turned the screws on Federal Education Minister Jason Clare to get all states and territories on board, warning Victoria will “go it alone” if it’s not agreed to.
“It’s a national system – ideally these things would be done at a national level,” she told reporters on Thursday.
“However, if there’s not agreement on this matter, the state is looking at how we can proceed with a CCTV trial.”
G8 Education and Affinity Education have committed to installing CCTV in hundreds of their for-profit centres after Joshua Dale Brown was charged over the alleged sexual abuse of eight children at a G8-run site at Point Cook in Melbourne.
The NSW government also committed to trialling CCTV in childcare centres when the regulator had safety concerns following a review by former state deputy ombudsman Chris Wheeler.
But service leaders, staff, unions and parent groups raised “strong concerns” about rolling out CCTV during the Victorian review, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and veteran public servant Pamela White.
Their gripes centred on the security of footage, capturing children inappropriately in nappy changing areas and toilets, the cost coming at the expense of spending on staff and predators working in “blind spots”.
The review recommended the national CCTV trial start within the next 12 months.
Mr Clare spoke with Ms Allan on Wednesday, with the CCTV trial among 14 of the recommendations directed at the Commonwealth and national reforms.
Legislation will be introduced to Victorian parliament next week to allow working with children checks to be immediately suspended while reassessments are finalised.
MPs will sit until they pass the urgent bill, which also enacts an agreement from state and territories for people banned from holding a clearance in one jurisdiction to be banned in all.
Victorian Attorney-General Kilkenny said recent cases in Queensland had highlighted the issue of “opportunistic” predators moving between states.
“It goes to the very heart of this issue. No state can do this alone,” she said.
Further legislation will be needed in coming months to stop workers who have their clearances refused, revoked or suspended from appealing the decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Ms Allan said.
The second package of reforms will move the state’s permit system and reportable conduct scheme under the control of the social services regulator.
Unannounced compliance visits will be doubled under the watch of an incoming standalone childcare sector regulator and harsher penalties meted out for breaches.
Child protection organisations have welcomed the state government’s pledge to push on with the reforms but said warning signs had been ignored for too long.
“Systems have failed to communicate and predators have slipped through the cracks,” Bravehearts chief executive Alison Geale said.
The leading child protection organisation said the changes won’t just plug gaps but fundamentally shift the culture from being reactive to proactive.
The Front Project backed the review’s call for a national commission to reset the sector, while the Australian Education Union endorsed the recommended re-think of the current funding model and reliance on the for-profit market.
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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
AAP
