logo
Out-of-school hours care services sector needs further scrutiny

Out-of-school hours care services sector needs further scrutiny

There are more than 5,000 out of school hours care services in Australia, which many families rely on to care for their children.
The case of accused paedophile David James has thrown the sector into the national spotlight. Adele Ferguson speaks to Sarah Ferguson.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Perth teen charged with manslaughter over electric bike death granted bail
Perth teen charged with manslaughter over electric bike death granted bail

ABC News

time23 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Perth teen charged with manslaughter over electric bike death granted bail

A teenage boy accused of running into and killing a Perth woman while riding an allegedly unlicensed high-powered electric motorbike through a park has been granted bail. The 17-year-old is charged with manslaughter in relation to the death of the 59-year-old woman in Picnic Cove Park in Edgewater last month. He has also been charged with riding an unregistered battery-powered motorcycle without a licence, failing to comply with a direction to stop and reckless driving to escape pursuit. Today in Perth Children's Court, his lawyer Simon Watters said the electric motorbike in question had been recently purchased, and there were investigations to determine if anything had been done to the bike mechanically "that contributed to the accident". According to police, about five minutes before the alleged incident, a police officer on a motorcycle turned on the bike's lights and sirens to try and stop the accused. They allege the teenager failed to stop and accelerated away from police, then travelled off road. "The evade police incident was terminated due to public safety concerns, and Police Air Wing continued to monitor the vehicle," police previously said in a statement. He has been held at Banksia Hill juvenile detention centre since the alleged incident, with Magistrate Alana Padmanabham a week ago ordering a report to assess the teenager's suitability for bail. Today she found she was satisfied he could be released from custody under strict conditions. "I was concerned about supervision," Magistrate Padmanabham said. She explained the report set out how he would be supervised by his parents, who are separated. The boy's father will move into the mother's home so that there will always be a parent with him. He must comply with a curfew and cannot leave the state. The teenager has been banned from riding an e-bike, e-vehicle or any vehicle in public spaces. In court today, the youth sat wearing a light blue business shirt and acknowledged his name but said nothing else. Mr Watters told the court there were plans for the boy's ongoing education while on bail and he would have a behavioural support worker. He said his mother had an old Toyota Land Cruiser for the teen to work on. "The intention is that he be kept busy," Mr Watters said. He is due back in court on October 6. It comes as a West Australian parliamentary inquiry continues to investigate the safety and regulation of e-rideables, like electric scooters and skateboards, and e-bikes. Chair of the inquiry Peter Rundle said last week he was seeking clarification on whether they could include electric motorbikes, too.

Queensland forensics lab in 'sustained crisis', with 'failure in leadership' leading to toxic culture, report finds
Queensland forensics lab in 'sustained crisis', with 'failure in leadership' leading to toxic culture, report finds

ABC News

timean hour ago

  • ABC News

Queensland forensics lab in 'sustained crisis', with 'failure in leadership' leading to toxic culture, report finds

A toxic culture at Queensland's state-run forensics lab has exacerbated delays, impacted police investigations and put the community at risk, a second scathing report in as many days has revealed. The troubled Forensic Science Queensland (FSQ) was the subject of two commissions of inquiry in 2022 and 2023, which found evidence may have been compromised and could have led to miscarriages of justice. On Monday, a report led by forensic biologist Dr Kirsty Wright identified that victims of serious crimes like rape and murder were waiting well over a year for vital DNA test results, which should have taken just 10 days. A separate independent report released on Tuesday, led by former Forensic Bureau of Investigations (FBI) expert Dr Bruce Budowle, described the lab as being in "sustained crisis". "The challenges facing FSQ seem to the Review Team to be multi-faceted and include failures in leadership and organisational culture and systemic failures in foundational areas like quality assurance and operational capability and capacity," the report noted. Do you know more about this story or have you been impacted by the DNA delays? We want to hear from you As of this week, about 13,000 DNA samples need to be retested due to failures at the lab. That process is expected to take years to complete and to lead to years-long delays in the courts. Dr Budowle found the backlog was having a "significant negative impact on police investigations and safety". "Delays between a crime and apprehension can be exacerbated, or identification of persons of interest may not occur at all if the investigative process cannot use DNA to develop investigative leads," he wrote. "And thus result in a failure in providing safety and security to the victims, their families, and their communities." Dr Budowle found there was a culture of "poor communication, a lack of empowerment, and resistance to change" at FSQ. "During interviews, many people reported raising operational and/or quality issues and receiving responses like 'it's not your concern' or 'stay in your lane' or 'pick your battles'," he wrote. The report noted significant staffing pressure at the lab, which was short-staffed by 80 full-time employees – something Dr Budowle said was an "extraordinary predicament for any organisation". "The Review Team accepts that finding qualified and experienced management and staff for FSQ is a real challenge given the limited pool of talent in Australia from which to draw and that recruiting to a laboratory in crisis is not an incentive to attract sufficient talent," he wrote. Dr Wright's report also detailed environmental contamination at FSQ, labelling it a "dirty lab". He said this had been raised in quarterly meetings for two years, but these concerns went "unheeded". With a massive backlog of work and a huge number of recommendations from previous inquiries to be implemented, Dr Budowle said management was working in a "reactive, crisis management mode". A clear lack of strategic direction contributed to "instability, resource wastage, staff burnout, and the erosion of staff's trust in management", he wrote. One example of shifting priorities detailed in the report involved a visit from Attorney-General Deb Frecklington. "For example, renovating a currently unused laboratory room became a high priority after a visit by the Attorney-General, who noted that the space should be renovated," the report read. Former director of the facility, Dr Linzi Wilson-Wilde, resigned last month following the identification of "contamination issues". The two reports have made a total of 32 recommendations, which the government said it would consider over the coming months. The government has appointed former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller to head a new expert team to overhaul operations at FSQ.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store