Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force arrested three people in relation to assaulting police while attending an unrelated incident in Malak last night.

About 6:30pm, Casuarina General Duties police attended a residence in Malak in relation to an ongoing investigation. A group of people were gathered and police initiated enquiries and removed drug paraphernalia from the scene.

A 16-year-old male allegedly attempted to regain possession of the drug paraphernalia and was placed under arrest after he disregarded police directions. The youth resisted arrest and assaulted an officer by biting him. A 48-year-old male and a 55-year-old female from the group then allegedly assaulted the attending police whilst they were affecting the youth’s arrest. Additional police attended the scene, and all three alleged offenders were apprehended.

As a result, one police member had to attend Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) for treatment, while another member received minor injuries.

The male youth was later charged with two counts of assault police, resist police and furnish false name to a police officer.

The adult male and adult female were both charged with assault police.

All three offenders will appear in Court today.

Acting Senior Sergeant Christopher Humphries said “No one deserves to be assaulted in their line of work no matter the job.

“This behaviour will not be tolerated, and police will arrest those who choose to put the safety of our officers at risk.”

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

KENNY HEATLEY: Joining me live is Education Minister Jason Clare. Really appreciate your time, Minister. Thanks so much. Wow, tough week.

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks, mate.

HEATLEY: Take us through the Commonwealth ‘Kindy Cops’, so it’s been called in the media today, and the unannounced spot checks on daycare centres. What powers exactly will they have?

CLARE: This is just one of the things that we’re doing. The bottom line, I’ve been pretty blunt this week, is that whilst action is being taken here to keep our kids safe in our early education and care centres, not enough has been done and not fast enough.

One of the things we will do is introduce legislation in the first sitting fortnight when Parliament comes back, which is about pulling the funding of child care centres that aren’t up to scratch, that are persistently failing in meeting the safety and quality standards that we as a country expect of them. One of the big weapons that the Commonwealth has, probably the biggest, is the funding that we provide to child care centres. Something like $16 billion dollars a year. Centres run based on that funding, if they don’t get it, they can’t operate. And what I’m saying is, if they’re not meeting those standards that we expect, then we should have the power to pull that funding off them. So, the bill will do that. The bill will also make sure that centres that aren’t meeting those minimum standards can’t expand and open another centre. But there’s another thing that the bill will do as well, and that gives the sort of people who work in my department, who investigate fraud in child care centres the ability to do spot checks, unannounced visits. They won’t need a warrant, they won’t need the police to come with them when they’re investigating fraud in child care centres. And the fact is, this happens. I’ve invested an extra $200 million dollars into the investigation of child care fraud over the last few years, and it’s clawed back about $300 million for taxpayers. It can involve a child care centre that claims that they might have a child there three days a week. The fact is, they’re only there two days a week, but they’re claiming three days a week. This will give powers to my department and my investigators to go in and check if the child is actually there. It’s just one of the things that we do to improve the integrity of this system, as well as the things we need to do to improve safety for children.

HEATLEY: So, how many of these inspectors do you see coming on board and doing these checks across the country, and I guess, how much will it cost? You know, that sort of thing? Have we gotten that far yet?

CLARE: I’ve got about 150 people who work in the investigative team in the department, but there are also investigators in the state-based regulators who can support our work as well. As I said, it costs money, but ultimately it saves the taxpayer money. The investment of about an extra $200 million dollars over the last few years has clawed back more than that in money we’ve saved from the fraud investigations we do.

HEATLEY: Is the Government considering implementing real-time updates on working with children checks based on criminal records? And how difficult is that, considering that pretty much every state and territory has different standards?

CLARE: It is difficult, but people aren’t interested in excuses; they want action. And this is one of the things that the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, spoke about the other day. Attorneys-General are going to meet next month and look at the steps that must be taken to improve criminal record checks and the criminal record check system. Part of it is about information sharing across borders, part of it is about making sure that it’s updated in near real-time. I caution that none of this is a silver bullet here. I’m not going to comment specifically on the case in Victoria because it will be before the court, but in other examples we’ve found people who’ve been convicted of assaulting children in child care centres where they had a criminal record check. Why? Because they didn’t have a criminal record and so they got through the system. The truth is here, there’s no silver bullet. There’s a whole bunch of things that we need to do, and this work will never end. There are always going to be more things that we need to do here because there’s always going to be people who are going to try and break through the net to try to do the dastardly things that we’ve seen other people do.

HEATLEY: Goodstart is going to install CCTV in all of its centres, hundreds of them. Will you make it mandatory in daycare centres?

CLARE: This is one of the things that Education Ministers, Early Education Ministers are going to talk about when we meet next month as well. It was a recommendation out of an independent review that New South Wales did and that it was released last week. One of the things that having a CCTV camera in a child care centre can do is if there’s somebody that’s potentially up to no good, they know the camera’s there. It means it’s less likely that they’re going to act. So, it’s one of the things we’re looking at right now —

HEATLEY: Or they know which spots aren’t covered by CCTV and will potentially take a child there.

CLARE: That’s why they have to be in the right places. If deterrence is going to work, how you set them up is just as critical as whether you’ve got them there at all.

HEATLEY: Minister, there’s been a conversation this week about whether men should be working in child care centres at all. Do you have a view of that?

CLARE: I was asked this question yesterday and I said, have a look at the Four Corners exposé, which revealed some pretty horrendous examples of physical abuse and neglect in our child care centres. And those examples weren’t men, they were women. This is not just about men or women. Whoever works in our child care centres, we’ve got to make sure that the safety of our system and the quality of our system is up to scratch. We’ve had a Royal Commission, I’ve commissioned a child care safety review, all of the recommendations that come out of that sort of work don’t talk about this. We know what we need to do. They recommend things like CCTV, like improving the Working with Children Check, like a national register of the people who work in our child care centres. They’re the sort of things we need to do. We’ve just got to crack on and do it.

HEATLEY: Yeah, and there’s already staff shortages. And men can also be excellent role models in education settings, which is important for young children. But ratios are a problem, aren’t they? And there’s just too many kids per educators. And this may potentially allow educators to be on their own with children for long periods of time.

CLARE: A little bit of good news when it comes to the number of people working in the sector, there are more now than there were three years ago. Part of that is because of the pay rise that’s rolling out now, the 15 per cent pay rise. A couple of years ago, people were leaving the sector in droves because they could get more money working at Bunnings or Woolies. That’s changing. Goodstart, who you mentioned, who are rolling out the CCTV cameras, they’re also seeing a massive uptick in job applications. I think something like 20 or 30 per cent. And across the board, we’re seeing a drop in vacancies of more than 20 per cent. So, more people wanting to work in the sector.

Another thing that we need to look at here, mate, is the training that people get, both at TAFE and at university and on the job, to make sure that the fantastic people who work in this sector. And I’ve got to tell you, as angry as the parents are who are affected by this, and I know how you know the white hot anger that mums and dads are feeling in Victoria, because one of them is my friend and she’s made it bloody clear to me just how angry and confused she is with what’s happening at the moment. I’m angry too. But the other group of Australians who are furious at the moment are the fantastic people who work in these centres, whose reputations have been affected by what’s happening right now. I take my hat off to them. I know every mum and dad who have children in our centres take their hat off to them as well. The work they do is incredibly important, and we need more of them. We’ve got to make sure that the training that we provide them provides them with the supports they need, not just to do the job and to keep our kids safe, but to identify people at the centre who may be up to no good.

HEATLEY: Just finally, Minister, Victoria has appointed former Labor Premier Jay Weatherill to lead the state’s child care inquiry, despite facing calls to resign after overseeing a child protection system in disarray in South Australia following a damning royal commission. Is he the right person, do you think? Do you have any view on that?

CLARE: Look, I’m not interested in who does the work. I’m interested in the work that they do, in the recommendations that come out of this rapid review on the 15th of August. People are interested in action. I strongly support the work that the Victorian Government is doing in rolling out reform as quick as possible. The New South Wales Government is doing that as well. I think most Australians want to make sure that the politicians here, whether it’s state or federal, are working together and that we’re acting as quick as we possibly can. I want to see action. I want to see what comes out of that review.

HEATLEY: Jason Clare thanks for making time for us today. Really appreciate it. It’s an important issue and we look forward to hearing that progress through Parliament in a few weeks time. Thanks again.

CLARE: No worries, mate.

Source: Ministers for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science

Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub is set to receive up to $432 million in grant funding as the second recipient of ARENA’s Hydrogen Headstart Program.

Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub (HVHH) will produce renewable hydrogen using a 50-megawatt electrolyser powered by renewable electricity. This hydrogen will replace natural gas in Orica’s ammonia production process, helping to reduce carbon emissions.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said that hydrogen has an important role to play in decarbonising heavy industry, particularly where electrification isn’t possible or where other alternatives are limited or don’t exist.

“Renewable hydrogen is an important decarbonisation lever for applications like ammonia production where hydrogen has traditionally been produced with fossil fuels.”

“By replacing natural gas-derived hydrogen with clean, renewable alternatives, projects like Orica’s are helping to decarbonise core industrial processes while preserving domestic manufacturing and unlocking new export opportunities,” said Mr Miller.

“ARENA’s Hydrogen Headstart program is designed to fast-track Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry by supporting large-scale projects that are finding ways to reduce emissions, strengthen industrial competitiveness and position the nation as a global leader in clean energy exports. Orica’s project is a great example of what’s possible.”

The project represents a major step in decarbonising Orica’s existing Kooragang Island Ammonia Manufacturing Facility and producing low-carbon ammonia and ammonium nitrate for domestic use across mining, agriculture and industrial sectors.

As part of the funding process, Orica must now work with ARENA to satisfy a number of conditions and demonstrate its ability to meet a range of contractual milestones before the funding is released. Funding under this program is paid based on actual production volumes over a 10-year operating period.

Orica’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gandhi said: “We’re grateful for this crucial support, which brings us closer to realising the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub and advancing the decarbonisation of our Kooragang Island facility – a site we’ve proudly operated for over fifty years. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with ARENA and other Federal and State government agencies to support the transition of Orica’s Kooragang Island manufacturing facility and help shape a cleaner, more resilient future for the Hunter region.”

This project follows the announcement of the first recipient of Hydrogen Headstart, with $814 million allocated to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) 1,500 MW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia. With both projects now announced, Hydrogen Headstart Round 1 has now concluded.

To date, ARENA has allocated $370 million to 65 renewable hydrogen projects from early-stage research to deployment.

To find out more about Orica’s project, visit: Hunter Valley Hydrogen Project | Home

Consultation for Round 2 of Hydrogen Headstart is now open. For more information, visit Round 2 funding page.

ARENA media contact:

media@arena.gov.au

Download this media release (PDF 151KB)

Source: New South Wales – News

Just before 9.30pm on Thursday 20 February police were called to a business on Hawson Avenue after five shots were fired at the building.

Fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time and there were no reports of injuries.

Southern District Detectives and Crime Scene investigators attended to examine the scene.

Following investigations, this morning (Friday 4 July) Serious and Organised Crime Branch detectives arrested two men over the matter.

A 24-year-old Croydon Park man was charged with discharge a firearm to damage property, contravene a Firearms Prohibition Order and possess a firearm without a licence.

A 49-year-old Fulham man, who was initially arrested in February, but charges were not pursued, was rearrested and charged with assisting an offender in connection with this incident.

They were both refused police bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court later today.

Anyone with information about illegal firearms in the community is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

CO TBA

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Two members of Outlaws Motorcycle Club charged with drug offences

Friday, 4 July 2025 – 11:00 am.

Detectives from Tasmania Police have charged two members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, including a senior club official, with serious drug offences following an ongoing investigation into organised criminal activity in the state’s North West.
A 36-year-old man and 51-year-old man were arrested and have been formally charged with multiple drug-related offences, including trafficking in a controlled substance and dealing with proceeds of crime.
The arrests were made as part of a targeted police operation aimed at disrupting the distribution of illicit drugs and dismantling the criminal networks facilitating their supply.
Search warrants were executed at multiple properties in the Devonport area, resulting in the seizure of a quantity of amphetamine, methylamphetamine, steroids, drug paraphernalia, and a significant amount of cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime.
“These arrests demonstrate Tasmania Police’s ongoing commitment to targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs and reducing the harm they cause in our communities through drug distribution and organised criminal activity,” said Detective Inspector Michelle Elmer.
Both men will appear in the Devonport Magistrates Court at a later date.
Investigations remain ongoing, and police urge anyone with information about illegal drug activity to contact  police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperstas.com.au.

Source:

A Kilmore family is urging Victorians to install smoke alarms in their bedrooms and to not charge their devices on bedding after their house was recently damaged by a fire in the early hours.

Just after 4am on Monday, 9 June, Kilmore, Wallan and Broadford CFA crews attended the scene after an iPad that was on charge under a pillow caught fire.

Mother of four, Jessica, said the iPad, charging between the bedhead and the pillow on the top bunk in the bedroom of two of her children, exploded from the heat and ignited a large flame.

“I was alerted by my son yelling and screaming because he got burnt from debris falling from the top of the bunk. He woke us up by saying there was fire on his bed,” Jessica said.

“I was in pure shock and surprise. All I wanted to do was make sure my kids were safe.

“My initial actions were to try and put the fire out, so we put water on it, and that obviously didn’t work, so we closed the door and ran safely out of the house.”

With no existing home fire escape plan in place, Jessica wishes she could go back in time, having had conversations with her family earlier about what they would do in an emergency.

“Although you often feel a charger heat up, you never think anything will actually happen,” Jessica said.

“My son was extremely terrified. He is fully aware of the dangers and now doesn’t charge his phone anywhere near the bed.”

Due to the family closing the bedroom doors, the fire was able to be contained to the bedroom, however both Jessica and her son sustained injuries from the blaze.

“I got burnt on my toe, and my 14-year-old got third degree burns on his arm,” Jessica said.

With school holidays approaching and families spending more time indoors, Jessica strongly urges parents to ensure all their devices are not being put on charge inside bedrooms.

“To have had this happen, it was just so scary and traumatic. I’d love for people to remain safe and not encounter what we went through,” Jessica said.

“Please be mindful of where you are charging devices. I’d recommend charging on benches away from any kind of fabric materials and preferably not overnight.”

Although smoke alarms were installed in the hallway, just outside the closed bedroom doors, Jessica was in such shock she did not hear them.

Residents are reminded smoke alarms should be installed in every bedroom and living area and to assist in helping your family to safety, interconnected smoke alarms are recommended, so that when one alarm activates, all smoke alarms will sound.

“I’m now focusing on getting safer cords with surge and overload protection and I’m also going to deck my house out with more smoke alarms insides our bedrooms and fire extinguishers throughout the house,” Jessica said.

Learn how you can further safeguard your family during emergencies at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/smokealarms.

Submitted by	CFA media

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police have charged a 29-year-old male in relation to a death in September last year.

On 19September 2024, a 49-year-old male presented to the Wadeye clinic reporting he had been assaulted. Whilst at the clinic the male collapsed and was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital but died five days later. 

After exhaustive investigations including forensic examinations, witness canvassing and ongoing consultations with the Department of Prosecutions, Major Crime Detectives attended Wadeye on 3 July 2025 where they arrested a 29-year-old male in relation to the death.

He has been charged with Violent act causing death and was remanded to appear in Darwin Local Court on 4 July 2025.

Source:

04 July 2025

When a dry creek bed is your classroom, science connects to the land, and sports day kicks off amid a cloud of red dust, you know you’re on Country out bush.

For a group of UniSA student teachers, the opportunity to teach in remote South Australia offers more than cultural immersion – it’s a chance to connect with community, embrace new ways of learning, and potentially spark a career in Aboriginal education.

This National NAIDOC Week, UniSA is highlighting its remote teaching placements in the Anangu Lands, spanning Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) and Yalata Lands, aiming to inspire future teachers, while addressing workforce shortages in regional and remote Australia.

The timing is significant, with the State’s Aboriginal Education Strategy, Impact Report showing that teaching support in the APY Lands has helped deliver the highest average preschool attendance in five years.

Already, four of last year’s eight placement students have returned to continue teaching in the APY Lands while completing their degrees.

With more than 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal education, UniSA’s Associate Director: Regional Engagement, Dr Sam Osborne, says encouraging students to explore remote teaching placements is vital to building the remote workforce.

“When there’s a teacher shortage in Australia, we know there’s a desperate teacher shortage in rural and remote Australia,” Dr Osborne says.

“These areas can seem daunting – they’re unfamiliar, far from family and friends, and may lack creature comforts – but they also offer incredibly rewarding experiences in close-knit and supportive communities.

“Our placement program provides third-year education students with a unique opportunity to spend six weeks living and teaching in Anangu communities, alongside the world’s oldest continuing culture.

“They live, learn and teach between the classroom, and on Country. Whether it’s working with Elders to link native plants with science, teaching kindy kids colours in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, or making maths fun by tallying bird species observed on Country.

“Importantly, students are supported by the community as they learn their craft in a cultural and language context that few Australians ever encounter.”

The Anangu schools’ partnership includes 10 schools spanning the far north and west of South Australia, including The APY Lands, Maralinga Tjarutja, and Yalata with around 200 local and non-local educators working in these schools.

Sophia, a third-year UniSA education student who recently returned from a six-week placement in Pipalyatjara Anangu School, says her stay was transformative.

“One of the first things you notice is the scale of the Australian outback. From the desert plains to endless skies over the mountain ranges, you know you’re about to experience something completely different,” Sophia says.

“Teaching at an Anangu school was so unique, and it very strongly connected to culture.

“We often took learning outdoors – using hopscotch or other made-up games to teach language and numbers – which the kids loved because they’re such outdoor people.

“There were also amazing opportunities to learn from people in the community. On family days, we’d sit with an Elder to hear stories of their history, their travels, or more practical things like how to mix bush medicines or make spears.

“The local people are beautiful – gentle, kind and insightful, and they have a quiet confidence that really stayed with me.

“This placement was unlike anything I’ve ever done. I felt welcomed in the community and I can’t wait to return – hopefully next year.”

The program includes a three-day language and culture orientation run by Iwiri Aboriginal corporation, a mid-placement visit to the UniSA site at Ernabella, and a post-placement debrief at Uluru. Students are supported by experienced staff and take part in on-Country experiences and excursions.

“This program provides high-quality support for preservice teachers who want to challenge themselves personally and professionally in a new context,” Dr Osborne says.

“They are developing far more than classroom skills – they’re building cultural understanding, lasting connections, and for many, a sense of purpose that could shape their careers.”

In partnership with the SA Department for Education, UniSA is also running a two-week field trip for students interested in teaching in remote areas.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Contact for interview: Dr Sam Osborne E: Sam.Osborne@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

SARAH FERGUSON: It emerged today that accused child sex offender Joshua Brown may have worked at several child care centres in Victoria longer than authorities originally thought. It means more parents now face the excruciating prospect that their children may be involved and may be required to undergo health screening. On Tuesday, Brown was charged with more than 70 offences, including sexual assault, relating to eight alleged victims at a child care centre in Melbourne’s west. Authorities had also listed more than 20 other centres he’d worked at across the city. These allegations will now be tested in court. But as our reporter Adele Ferguson told us when the story broke, it’s not the first time parents have had to consider the possibility their children may have been the victims of assault while in childcare. 

ADELE FERGUSON: If you look across at the data, at least one report a day of sexual misconduct comes from child care centres, which is a heck of a lot. 

SARAH FERGUSON: The latest allegations put pressure on the Federal Government to overhaul the regulation of child care in Australia. Education Minister Jason Clare is the Minister responsible. Jason Clare, welcome.

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thank you.

FERGUSON: Now you learnt about the allegations being made against the child care worker in Melbourne over a week ago. What action did you take?

CLARE: The first step I took was to put this on the top of the agenda for Education Ministers when we met last week. Last week, two things happened. I was informed that a person had been arrested for the alleged behaviour in child care centres in Victoria. But a second thing happened. The Wheeler Report was released by the NSW Government, and their initial response. And as you know, that was an investigation conducted by the former Deputy Ombudsman of NSW, Chris Wheeler, in response to the Four Corners exposé earlier this year, which revealed horrifying examples of physical abuse and neglect in child care centres. I thought it was necessary to put this at the top of the agenda for Education Ministers last week so we could pull together the recommendations from Chris and he briefed us, but also recommendations from Gabrielle Sinclair, who’s the head of the federal regulator, about what are the next steps we need to take to keep our kids safe in child care.

FERGUSON: We’ll come to some of those in a minute. I just want to stay with the situation in Melbourne and just repeating that these are now allegations, the man has been charged and will face trial. How is it possible that if you knew a week ago, some parents only found out when they went to the childcare centres that there was a problem?

CLARE: Let me be very clear. I was informed by the Victorian Government that someone had been arrested, I wasn’t briefed on the details of this, and nor were Ministers at the Education Ministers meeting last week. To the best of my knowledge, the Victorian Government has made sure that they’ve informed parents as soon as they possibly can. As you would have heard —

FERGUSON: Well, it’s not – it can’t be as soon as they possibly could because we had an incident of a mother on the program last night who did receive a text message. The text message was very confusing. The media were at the child care centre. She didn’t know, walked into a child care centre.

CLARE: Fair point. Let me correct that. The Victorian Government were informing parents when they believed that they were ready to do so. One of those people is a friend of mine. She’s directly affected by this. Her girls are caught up in this. I know the white-hot anger of all parents that are affected by this and the confusion that they’re facing and feeling right now. I don’t want to make any points specifically about the alleged offender because this will go before the courts. But this is serious, it’s sickening. People want to turn away from this and turn off their TVs, but you can’t. It requires serious action. I’ve been pretty blunt about this today and yesterday. We’re taking action, but not enough action has happened and not fast enough.

FERGUSON: Alright, let’s talk about that. But just in the case of your friends, and obviously we offer them all our sympathy, how did they find out, and how did they think the matter was treated?

CLARE: They received a text message.

FERGUSON: Did they understand the text message?

CLARE: Yeah, they did. They did, but then they received further details. She’s gone off to see a GP, but to be honest, she’s still confused, wanting to find out what tests she needs to get her daughters to do, whether those tests might cause more trauma than the girls. The girls don’t know about it at the moment. She’s keeping it from them, as you expect that she would. But at some point, they need to get tests done. She needs to know what those tests involve and what the potential impact of them might be on the girls.

FERGUSON: Are paedophiles targeting child care centres because they can get easy access to children?

CLARE: We’ve seen evidence of this, Sarah. We saw evidence of this in Queensland, where Australia’s worst paedophile was arrested and charged and convicted a couple of years ago. It’s why I asked the federal regulator to conduct a review into child safety. It’s why the sort of actions that are rolling out now are happening, because you have seen paedophiles do this.

FERGUSON: We will talk about what came out of that review, but there are figures that show, and these are just in the jurisdictions that have reporting requirements, at least one incident of sexual misconduct a day. And that doesn’t include any figures from Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia. How do you defend those statistics?

CLARE: I don’t. No reasonable person would. What those statistics show you is that we’ve got a serious problem, and we’ve got to take serious action. The honest answer to you is that this job will never be done, that there will always be bad people that try and break through the net. That doesn’t mean that you do nothing, though. That means that we’ve got to do everything that we possibly can to make sure that our children are safe. That’s why people are talking now about CCTV or about an educator register, about improving working with children checks. None of that is a silver bullet. None of that is going to guarantee every child is safe. But all of it are the sort of things that are necessary if we’re fair dinkum about doing our jobs.

FERGUSON. So, what is your view on each of those things? Just one at a time? CCTV. Should there be CCTV in child care centres?

CLARE: Yes, there should. Chris talked about this in his report that was handed down last week —

FERGUSON: When can we expect to see that?

CLARE: Hang on a sec. So, what Mr. Wheeler said in his report, based on the Four Corners investigation, is that that should be targeted to certain centres based on the fact that some centres haven’t been up to scratch. And so, Education Ministers are looking at –

FERGUSON: Just hold it. Just hold it there. You’re talking about the need for CCTV in a child care centre that is not up to scratch. Should any centre that is required to have CCTV for the safety of its – for the children attending it, should that centre be in operation?

CLARE: The short answer to that is no, and that’s why I’m going to introduce legislation when the Parliament returns in the first sitting fortnight that will cut funding to child care centres that aren’t up to scratch, that aren’t meeting the quality and safety standards that Australians would expect and that our kids deserve. This is the big weapon that the Commonwealth Government has to wield here. We fund centres, 70 per cent of the funding for these centres comes from taxpayers —

FERGUSON. So, you have all the levers.

CLARE: That is the big lever that the Commonwealth Government has. States have other levers, but that’s the big one. A centre can’t run without taxpayer funding or taxpayer support. And so, that’s why we’ve said this was something that we announced in March. That’s a major important measure to make sure that our kids are safe. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have CCTV as well. Chris gave us recommendations about that, and that’s one of the things Ministers are going through right now.

FERGUSON: One of the standards that you’ve already talked about that’s coming in in September is mandatory reporting of any physical or sexual abuse within 24 hours. Why not bring that in immediately?

CLARE: We’re bringing it in as quick as we possibly can. I’m conscious here no one is interested in any excuses here. But the honest answer to this is out of the review that we did, that we asked the National Regulator to conduct for us, they recommended a suite of changes, about 16 different reforms. Some of them are the responsibility of Education Ministers, some the Attorney-General, some building Ministers. One of them was around mobile phones, one of them was around mandatory reporting. I’ve told my department, I’ve told Ministers across the country, we need to implement these as quick as we possibly can, and that’s one of them.

FERGUSON. So, the beginning of September is the earliest you can possibly do that. There is no mechanism under which you could make that immediate because I think that’s something that people will be puzzled about. If you have an existing requirement that says you have to report within seven days, that seems extremely long. Why can’t you move more quickly on that?

CLARE: I think anyone listening would say, why is it seven days now?

FERGUSON: Yes, indeed.

CLARE: Why hasn’t this been fixed yet?

FERGUSON: What’s the answer?

CLARE: The answer is it should have been fixed yesterday. I’m determined to get it fixed as soon as it possibly can. The best advice I’ve got is the way this system works is we can get it done in September.

FERGUSON: How do you propose to fix a system that fails to punish centres that offer substandard care?

CLARE: There’s at least two parts to this. The penalties that centres cop at the moment are insufficient. This is another thing that Chris Wheeler pointed to in his report last week. For an individual that breaches —

FERGUSON: Do you need Chris Wheeler’s report to tell you that?

CLARE: No. I think any right-minded person, when they find out that a maximum penalty under the existing law for an individual is about $9,000, for a centre or a provider is about $45,000, would say, “well, that’s probably not enough to make sure that people are doing what they should be doing”.

FERGUSON: Why did it take a television program to make this an urgent matter of business development?

CLARE: It shouldn’t, but there’s a bit of a history here at the ABC of Four Corners doing the right thing.

FERGUSON: But I want to know what the Government’s been doing because this information was not held secretly from you or your department.

CLARE: No, I get all of that —

FERGUSON: So, what have you been doing for the last three years?

CLARE: The bottom line is that Ministers haven’t been doing enough fast enough, right?

FERGUSON: Including you?

CLARE: Including me, and I take my fair share of responsibility for it. I’ve been pretty blunt about that. But I tell you what, I’ve got the job now and I’m determined to act. Part of that is significantly beefing up those penalties. The other part in answering your question is about cutting off the funding to centres who don’t comply if they’re persistently not meeting safety standards. If they’re persistently not meeting the sort of quality that we expect, whether it’s for a for-profit centre or a not-for-profit community centre, then we’ve got to have the ability to cut off funding, pull the funding for them. That’s what’s going to help get centres up to the sort of safety and quality standards we expect —

FERGUSON: What should the threshold be? Is one breach of a serious safety standard enough?

CLARE: We’re working through the details of that bill that I’ll introduce now, so I won’t pre-empt that, but there needs to be stages there so that potentially we can set conditions on centres. But ultimately, you’ve got to have the power to pull the funding.

FERGUSON: The Federal Government undertook a drive, the Albanese Government, when it came into power, a drive to provide what were urgently needed childcare places across the country. Have you pushed the sector to expand too fast at the expense of children’s safety?

CLARE: No, I don’t think that’s right. We have seen the centre grow over the last three years. There’s 100,000 more children in early education and care today than there were three years ago.

FERGUSON: And we’ve got a crisis of quality. So, doesn’t that make the answer to that question yes?

CLARE: There’s about one and a half million children in the sector right now, so it’s gone from about 1.4 to 1.5. So, we’re seeing that grow. That’s good for parents because it’s an essential service. It’s good to have more children in early education and care because it’s helping to get them ready for school —

FERGUSON: Sure, but this is a debate about quality.

CLARE: I get that. I’m determined to make sure that we hit those quality standards. So, the question then is, how do you make sure you hit those quality and safety standards? What do businesses in this sector listen to? Money. And if you cut off the funding, then you end up closing down the centre. That’s going to be the real tool that we’ve got here to help boost those standards.

FERGUSON: So do you – As things stand, do you accept that there is a correlation between for-profit in this sector and low quality?

CLARE: What I would say is that in the community or the not-for-profit sector, we’re seeing overwhelmingly higher levels of achieving the sort of quality we want and expect than in the for-profit sector. But whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, everybody has to meet those sort of standards. We’ve got to make sure that the safety of our children is number one, and one of the ways we can do that is with the lever of Commonwealth money.

FERGUSON: Long way to go on this. Thank you very much indeed for coming in. 

CLARE: Thanks, Sarah.