Minister Jason Clare reveals major childcare changes as Labor faces mounting backlash over safety failures

Education Minister Jason Clare has vowed to do “every single thing” within his power to protect children in childcare centres.

The government is facing mounting criticism over its response to a landmark safety inquiry after it accepted just one of the 23 recommendations from the inquiry which exposed serious failures in the childcare sector that have allowed predators to target vulnerable children.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Government accepts one of 23 childcare safety recommendations

Child safety advocates have described the response as a “slap in the face”, with renewed calls for a dedicated federal minister for child safety.

On Sunrise on Thursday, Clare acknowledged governments had failed to do enough to protect children for years. 

“The truth is, not enough has been done by any government, state or federal, Labor or Liberal, over the last 10 years,” he said.

“That’s now changing because of the action that I’m taking and leading right across the country.”

Clare revealed friends had been caught up in an abuse case in Victoria.

“I’ve got friends in Victoria whose kids were caught up in what this scumbag did to them,” he said.

“I’ll do every single thing within my power to make sure that I keep our kids safe in our centres for the more than one million parents who rely on those centres every single day.”

Government to crack down on child safety

Clare said Australian Federal Police had identified banning personal mobile phones inside childcare centres as one of the most important steps to protect children.

“I’m not going to explain why but I think all mums and dads out there know why it’s important that we’ve got personal mobile phones out of centres,” he said.

“The second thing they said was cutting off funding to centres that aren’t meeting the safety standards, and we’ve done that too.”

Clare also pointed to mandatory safety training for every person working in childcare, from senior executives to staff on the floor.

The minister also outlined plans for closer co-operation between police forces and more consistent working with children checks across state borders.

“It’s making sure that working with children checks work right across the country,” he said.

“So if a paedophile moves from one centre to another, from state to state, then they’re caught. And if you’re banned in one state, you’re banned everywhere.”

Clare warned childcare providers that failed to meet safety standards could lose their government funding.

When asked whether the government would reconsider the remaining 22 recommendations, Clare said the “work is never done”.

“We will continue to comb through this report, just like there are other reports at a state level as well,” he said.