All government levels complicit in childcare failures

Credit: Matt Golding

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CHILDCARE

The current events involving allegations of sexual abuse in Victoria’s childcare sector are alarming but certainly not surprising. I was an expert witness to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It made multiple, significant recommendations, including for improvements in standards and working with children checks to be enacted ‘within 12 months’.
That was 2015. Nothing much happened. Earlier this year, the National Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollands, called out the continuing regulatory failings in ensuring child safety for infants and pre-school children in childcare centres.
All three royal commissions into aged care, disability services and child sexual abuse noted the systemic failures of organisations concerned with power or profit over the care of people.
The federal, state and territory governments are all complicit in the ongoing failures to ensure the protection of our most vulnerable citizens. They all know what to do; they just can’t do it.
Dr Philomena Horsley, Carlisle River

Identity management is crucial across nation
The editorial, ″⁣We can have a good childcare system, or a cheap one. When protecting children, that choice should be easy″⁣, 2/7) refers to the need for a ″⁣nationally coordinated working with children scheme″⁣. That would require a national database for identifying all individuals.
The big problem there is that states control primary identifying records through registration of births, deaths, marriages and motor vehicles. Some federal authorities have means of tracking offenders and suspects across state borders, but more must be done. Identity management is a crucial function of modern democracies and many European nations can do it. Why can’t we?
Trevor Kerr, Blackburn

Priorities of a multibillion-dollar industry
Staffing childcare centres with the minimum number of staff to ensure better income to investors is the path we have chosen to go down. Why else would we refer to it in all articles as the ″⁣multibillion dollar child care industry″⁣? For me, that says it all, to our great shame.
Julian Guy, Mt Eliza

Childcare providers must face consequences too
The best, and perhaps the only way to improve the safety of children in childcare facilities, would be to strengthen any laws that might be necessary to make the proprietors responsible for the safety of those children. Any breaches, whether perpetrated against one or many children, should also be their responsibility. If owners were made to understand that they would face severe punishment, including the possibility of a jail sentence, for the actions of a staff member, maybe they would clean up their own act.
Brian Ruck, Forest Hill

Onerous checks restrict volunteers in non-children settings
Let’s just calm down with tightening up on Working with Children (WWC) checks. I have absolutely no problem with requirements being tightened up for activities that involve actually working with children – schools, kindergartens, childcare scouts, guides and church groups etc, but over the past five years these requirements have been asked of the many thousands of would-be volunteers in environmental programs that do not see children attend.
When a 70-year old wants to remove weeds from their local park for a friends’ group and has to get a WWC check (online, which they are not confident with), they will just decide it’s too hard, turn away, and the work will not be done.
The easy solution is to decree that if any child was in attendance at a local volunteer environmental activity must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Mick Webster, Chiltern

Cost of corporatisation
The Age editorial (″⁣Abuse claims raise questions for parents″⁣, 2/7) highlights a number of issues in relation to the provision of childcare. Central to the editorial discussion is the question of responsibility for this and other instances of alleged child abuse in child care centres. While finger pointing and blame are readily directed at both federal and state governments in relation to vetting child care workers), a key issue is absent from this discussion.
The childcare centres involved in this and other terrible episodes across the country all run for profit, part of the corporate world operating to exploit the care of children, as well as their families and paid staff. Some are ASX listed.
We are witness to the unintended consequences of the corporatisation of childcare and the childcare industry, like the major banks and the many other industries (think universities, insurance and fast food chains) who simply profit from our daily lives.
The slow erosion of community based childcare services, with local accountability and oversight, has occurred almost by stealth. The community care model provides quality care, trust and investment in local services. Moreover, this model is premised on the idea that raising a child does take a village.
The corporate model operates well until it doesn’t and then the state must jump in and mop up the damage. The Victorian government and its many service areas has responded well to this corporate failure. Reform can and should fix some of the failings, but it won’t be corporate Australia that pays the price of this terrible breach of trust.
Kate Driscoll, Aireys Inlet

No place for young men
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese openly stated he wants to be remembered for his “childcare policies″⁣ for financially assisting parents who choose institutional childcare as well as increasing hours for 3-year-old kindergarten – no doubt important options for many working parents.
Yet, he refuses to consider a “childcare” policy allowing equivalent financial support to parents who financially struggle by foregoing extra work hours, but who want to make the safe choice to stay home with their very young children during the critical formative early-childhood years.
The abhorrent nature of this latest allegation of sexual abuse in childcare institutions must surely be a wake up call, not only to the industry, but to all who openly promote institutional childcare as the best “social and educational ” experience for young children below kinder age.
Young men, so many of whom turn to pornography for their entertainment – which is a huge problem in Australia – are not the gender and age cohort that should be employed in the care of our young children in these institutions , regardless of employment equality laws.
The young children of Australia are too precious to be put at any possible risk.
Jan White, Donvale

Deploy CCTV
The preponderance of male child abusers is based on the statistics of detection, not of occurrence. Abuse by female carers would be less suspected and may be less visible. And sexual acts are not the only form of abuse, Therefore, exclusion of male carers would be a facile response and not solve the problem.
In a world of ubiquitous and well-accepted CCTV cameras, I find it strange that care centres don’t deploy them routinely, monitoring every square metre of the place.
Ralph Böhmer, St Kilda West

Cost of no cameras
I’ve just returned from the UK where a young couple is calling for CCTV cameras to be mandatory in childcare centres. This was after their nine-month-old baby girl suffocated after being strapped to a bean bag on only her second full day at nursery.
The CCTV footage was essential for disproving the claim of the childcare worker that the baby was checked on every few minutes. The worker was convicted of manslaughter.
As a taxpayer, I value the possibility of installing CCTV in childcare centres in Australia. I value it more than increases in defence spending.
Penny Hawe, Lorne

THE FORUM

Wish Ley well
Your correspondent asks why the Liberals chose Sussan Ley as their leader (″⁣And another thing″⁣, 3/7) The answer is simple. Ley is expendable. The rumbles are already there in Angus Taylor’s comments on quotas for women. The suits will soon galvanise for a leadership spill whereupon Ley will be out and a male voted in. She will need to assert herself and prove her ability as leader before this spill in the offing happens. I wish her well.
Sue Bennett, Sunbury

Yoorook question
This vital Yoorook Commission document deserves the respect of every Victorian. As to what to do with it, surely the question is: ″⁣If my family had been treated as Victorian First Nations have, would that be OK?″⁣ The answer is no. So this being the country of fairness to all, we can step forward with the past injustices guiding us to a better present and future.
Rae Barclay, Highton

Qantas points hack
As one of the 6 million whose information was divulged to hackers by the friendly staff at Qantas, I was keen to learn more about the actual information gleaned by these criminals.
I rang the helpline and sought to find out if the points accrued had been given out along with my other personal details. I was advised that such information was not available.
The number of points is totally important to hackers as ipso facto they then have some knowledge of your wealth and spending habits.
Surely, Qantas can provide all the information that was hacked and not put the spin doctors cleansed version out there to their poor unsuspecting punters.
John de Kever, Kew

Dubious achievements
In his short time as US president, Donald Trump has undermined the American judicial system, dismantled environmental protection laws, attacked support systems for US veterans and for the poor and sick, continued to amass wealth for himself and his friends, damaged the relationship with America’s friends (including, of all places, Canada), and done untold damage to that country’s democratic institutions. Trump behaves like the bully in the sandpit because he knows no better. It will take decades for America to recover from his so called ″⁣achievements″⁣ as your corespondent put it (Letters, 2/7).
Colin Smith, Dandenong

Oval Office booby traps
Now is not the right time for our prime minister to negotiate with the US president in the Oval Office. The treatment of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was appalling.
The South African president had a good team and seemed to escape unscathed.
Chancellor Merz brought along a framed copy of Grandfather Trump’s German birth certificate. That was subtle. Trump’s mantra is fight, fight, fight. That is exactly what he is doing to millions of American citizens, judges, state governors, his neighbours, the Middle East and European Leaders, who were able to placate him with false praise. He has no respect for former presidents, but demands he be respected.
Pat Lord, Sale

Balancing vibe and amenity
Re Sian Campbell’s wonderful piece (″⁣My suburb’s so daggy, our local shops are known as the ‘Square of Despair‴⁣⁣, 23/ 6) about West Brunswick (sorry, Brunswick West), I concur with her appraisal of the suburb, one in which I was born and bred, when my father, an immigrant from Greece settled in what was then a working-class suburb because it was where unskilled immigrants could find work at one of the many factories operating in Brunswick at the time (my father did double shifts at the local Coca Cola bottling plant).
I’ve watched Brunswick develop from a working-class suburb of factories, pubs, milk bars and fish and chip shops into the so-called ‘trendy’ and much-sought after postcode it has become – which is all fine.
However, three issues are threatening its ‘liveability’. Firstly, the local council’s irresponsible carte blanche policy toward developers allowing the rise of ugly, towering apartments without sufficient consideration given to quality of materials and design, or provision of infrastructure to cope with influx of residents and vehicles.
Secondly, the widespread scourge of depressing graffiti defacing local shopfronts and even private front and boundary fences along Melville Road. This is not the lively street art of the CBD’s laneways – this is vicious and soul destroying.
And thirdly, the choking traffic build-up along Melville Road and other main roads in the area as drivers, to avoid CityLink fees, turn off at Bell Street and divert along Melville Road to access the CBD and suburbs beyond. I live along Melville Road and trying to reverse out of the driveway is an exercise in Russian roulette most days due to the non-local traffic coming off the freeway.
I know there is a cost to living in a popular inner-city suburb, but surely some judicial planning and forethought by those responsible for the healthy maintenance of our local urban environments can balance progress and expansion with some sanity?
Catherine Leos, Brunswick West

Age alert
Re Edwin Maher’s article (1/7) about giving up driving after crashing into his garage door. However, I disagree with his rejection of the offer to go to hospital and be checked more thoroughly, I recently had two fainting incidents before a match at the MCG, the second while being attended to by the marvellous first-aid people. They suggested I get an ambulance to hospital and be checked more thoroughly. I initially declined, saying that I now felt fine (I wanted to watch the match). They then said the three fatal words, “at your age” (74), you have ticked all the boxes and should go, so I did.
Mark Roberts, Strathmore

AND ANOTHER THING

Credit: Matt Golding

Politics
Sussan Ley became leader as the men were all down the shallow end of the gene pool.
Peter Thomas, Pascoe Vale

Yoorrook has given us a rare gift; to understand the recommendations from truth telling and fully acknowledge the upheaval of colonisation. Let’s respond with an open heart.
Lesley Hoatson, Kensington

Childcare
Paid parental childcare . . . Now.
Pauline Smit, Doncaster East

Clearly the ″⁣working with children″⁣ check, isn’t working.
Katherine Anderson, Windsor

Society is reaping the rewards of John Howard’s privatisation of childcare and aged care industries. Some legacy.
George Reed, Wheelers Hill

It is a reflection on Australia’s legal system that law firms are already circling the parents of child victims of the childcare scandal. Monetary returns should be the last thing that those parents would be considering.
Reg Murray, Glen Iris

Furthermore
A pity Qantas didn’t focus on securing customer personal information rather than illegally sacking workers.
Arthur Pritchard, Ascot Vale

Why are some people so upset? Trump is fulfilling the promises he made before he was elected. A sign of a committed politician?
Michael Brinkman, Ventnor

I have no doubt that in the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine Donald Trump will claim victory because he organised it.
Bruce Dudon, Woodend

I will be happy if Trump and Musk fallout for elontime.
Max McCaffrey, East Brighton

China has a standing army of over one million men. Send ’em chairs.
Barry Revill, Moorabbin

FInally
Rather ironic that Jeff Bezos has lost a methane-trading satellite used to measure oil and gas emissions when his wedding in Venice probably had the carbon emissions of a small country. Ninety private jets?
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove

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