BREAKING NEWS Karl Stefanovic clashes with woman calling for ALL male workers to be banned from childcare centres - after 26-year-old man charged with sickening offences shocks Australia
The proposal comes after two men were charged by sex crimes detectives.
Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was accused of abusing eight children aged between five months and two years at one centre in Point Cook.
Brown has been charged with 70 offences, including sexual penetration of a child, producing child abuse material and recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety. The latter charge refers to alleged contamination of food with bodily fluids.
His arrest triggered a public health alert, with Victoria's Chief Health Officer warning that 1,200 children should get STI testing.
Brown had worked at 20 childcare facilities since 2017.
On Wednesday it emerged a second man, Michael Simon Wilson, 36, from Hoppers Crossing, had appeared in court on the same day as Brown, charged with child abuse material, sex offences and bestiality.
It is understood Michael Simon Wilson's alleged offending not connected to childcare facilities or against same alleged victims as Joshua Dale Brown.
Louise Edmonds, who is leading the proposal, spoke with Karl Stefanovic, advocating for a complete ban on male workers in the sector.
'Look, it is extreme for one. But the thing is, we're now seeing this is the third case of huge amounts of children being exposed to alleged paedophiles and alleged child sex abuses in a childcare centre.
'What we're seeing is that less than 8 per cent of male workers are actually in the industry.
Stefanovic pushed back, highlighting the challenges already faced by men in the sector.
'Men have a right to work in that area. And so many of them are dedicated.
'The perception is already hard enough for them. And when a story like this happens, it makes it even more difficult for them.
But Ms Edmonds argued that the safety of children must come before concerns about gender equality.
'We shouldn't be looking at the equality space in the sector. We actually have to look at the safety first and foremost of our most vulnerable citizens, which are our children, and a lot of them are voiceless.
'So children start communicating well at around two years old. The children under two years old, they cannot speak.'
Stefanovic continued to push back highlighting the challenges already faced by men in the sector.
'I get all that But when you're talking about inequality, banning men just for being men, that's the very definition of it
But Ms Edmonds stood firm, citing statistics.
'So the sad reality is there's so much lived experience and evidence and data around child sex offenders, and 97 per cent of them are male.
'And this is a scary topic and a lot of people, we don't want to talk about it because it's so horrific when it comes to the abuse of children.
As part of her proposal, Edmonds also called for increased surveillance in childcare centre.
'It takes seconds to abuse a child. I'm sorry to say that, but this is the reality. But what we can do with the CCTV, it is linked to a third party child protection agency.
'It is a deterrent if you put it into the areas that are blind spots, like the sleeping quarters, the change tables and the toilets and it is off site, what happens is it deters predators.'
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an hour ago
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Thousands of reports of abuse have been made in Australian childcare centres. Most alleged perpetrators were allowed to keep working
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Sign up: AU Breaking News email When one mother in the Northern Territory arrived at her child's daycare centre to pick them up at the end of the day, she saw her three-year-old – through gaps in a fence – in an outdoor area. The child was standing between the legs of a seated male educator she had never seen before, who was rubbing the child's backside with his hands, according to a statement she would give to NT police, a redacted version of which has been seen by Guardian Australia. The mother immediately reported the incident to the centre and to police. NT police investigated but, according to their record of investigation, released under freedom of information laws, because there were no other witnesses and no CCTV footage, police concluded there was 'not enough evidence' to prosecute and so declined to pursue charges. The early childhood education and care regulator for the territory – the Quality Education and Care Northern Territory (QECNT) – also launched an investigation. 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In 1,312 cases (70%), the investigation was completed and 'no further action' was taken. In 13% of cases (244) administrative compliance action was taken, and in 180 cases (9.5%) statutory compliance action was taken. Other incidents were under investigation or handled in another case. A spokesperson for the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority said: 'We work closely with law enforcement and other agencies where required to support investigations. If a police investigation does not result in charges, we still conduct our own investigation and take strong action in line with the provisions of the National Law and Regulations.' The authority can bring prosecutions, and since 2021, it has prosecuted 34 providers, nominated supervisors and individuals, resulting in fines and conditional release, though none of these were in relation to sexual abuse allegations. 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an hour ago
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