Education Minister Jason Clare has re-affirmed the need to establish a national register for childcare workers. The Federal Government has announced it'll fast-track legislation to cut funding to childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards in the wake of those shocking allegations against a childcare worker in Victoria.
00:00Well, Education Minister Jason Clare essentially saying that childcare is going to be a key
00:07priority when Parliament returns next week for the first sitting fortnight of this parliamentary
00:14term.
00:15So he says that he wants to introduce legislation to essentially withdraw funding from childcare
00:22centres that aren't meeting safeguarding standards.
00:25We'll remember that while childcare is funded by the Commonwealth, that funding is administered
00:32by the states and territories.
00:35He's also called again for a National Register of Childcare Workers, and this has largely
00:41been sparked by the case of Joshua Dale Brown and allegations of sexual abuse against him.
00:49Ultimately, Jason Clare says that having that tracking device could be incredibly useful
00:55for authorities because it could raise potential red flags.
01:00If we build this register the right way, it helps us to identify or prompt red flags when
01:06somebody is moving for the wrong reasons.
01:10There'll be sometimes people who will move between centre and centre because they're labour
01:13hire, but there may be instances where people are moving from centre to centre because they're
01:18quietly being moved on.
01:19Now, if the system works the way it needs to work, when something's not right, the police
01:25are called and the regulator comes in.
01:27And if necessary, the centre is shut down.
01:31Well, Minister Clare ruled out introducing specific gender-based hiring rules.
01:37He says that essentially the evidence doesn't support the idea that women should only work
01:42in childcare centres, and that's one of the, I guess, questions raised by this particular
01:48case in Melbourne, and questions around the make-up of staffing or employment in these spaces.
01:55And ultimately, Mr Clare says that he doesn't support that.
01:59He's also dismissed suggestions of new government subsidies for informal in-home care for childcare,
02:06and ultimately saying that accessible, regulated childcare remains essential for working families.
02:12So, I think there's a lot of people who are in the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of the centre of centre of the centre of centre of the centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of centre of
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