Man held valid WWCC check for years after arrest for accessing child abuse material
Wergaia elder Ronald Marks, a prominent Horsham man, was convicted in the city's Magistrates' Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to accessing child abuse material between 2012 and 2021.
The 74-year-old was fined $7,500, and ordered to report to Victoria Police for the next eight years.
The ABC now understands that Marks, who was arrested in 2021, held a valid WWCC until he was charged in January 2025.
During those four years he attended kindergartens to educate students on cultural issues.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said detectives began investigating Marks in 2021, and his physical WWCC card was seized. The Department of Justice was also notified.
However, under the current system, a person can be arrested over child-related offences and still hold a valid WWCC.
It's not until they are formally charged or convicted that their WWCC might be suspended or cancelled.
Yarriambiack Shire Council's chief executive officer Tammy Smith told the ABC that gap was a huge flaw in the system.
The ABC revealed this week that the state's Department of Government Services (DGS) had completed an initial review into Victoria's WWCC system.
Currently in Victoria, a WWCC can only be revoked following criminal charges or a regulatory finding.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government told the ABC it relied on alerts from Victoria Police or other authorities to action a WWCC suspension.
The government said it planned to modify the system following its review, with changes due to be implemented in August.
Until August last year, Marks was contracted through his personal business, Wergaia Industries, to lead kindergarten cultural awareness programs as part of the School Readiness Program.
According to business records, Marks' ABN was cancelled on August 20, 2024.
Ms Smith said the council only became aware of Marks' criminal conduct this week following media reports of his conviction.
She said Yarriambiack Shire had no idea Marks was arrested in 2021 or charged in January this year, and confirmed council staff had sighted a physical WWCC in October last year.
Following the revelations, Ms Smith said the council commenced an internal investigation and found Marks held a valid WWCC when he was contracted to provide the kindergarten program.
The ABC spoke with multiple organisations that contracted Marks. All had sighted a WWCC they believed to be valid as late as November 2024.
Elicia Napoli, CEO of Emerge Early Years Services, a non-for-profit that operates kindergarten and day-care programs across the Wimmera region, raised concerns about the failure to suspend WWCCs of people under investigation for child-related offences.
"There are risks to children, families, educators, community if that doesn't happen," Ms Napoli said.
She told the ABC that cultural education was an important part of the curriculum and would continue.
In a statement posted online, Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BGLC), the body representing traditional owners of the area, said it was "shocked and appalled" by the news.
"Upon learning of the conviction, we immediately terminated all services provided by Mr Marks and launched a full review of his past involvement with our programs," BGLC chair Chris Harrison said.
Mr Harrison said BGLC was undertaking a "full safeguarding review" and would be offering support to staff and community.
The council is working with BGLC to remove and replace a giant silo art installation featuring the Wergaia elder's face at Sheep Hills.
"Both Yarriambiack Shire and Barengi Gadjin Land Council representatives agree that ensuring and supporting the safety of children is of the utmost importance, and therefore the image of Mr Marks on the Sheep Hills Silo should be removed as a matter of priority," Ms Smith said.
"The council has engaged with the artist who commissioned the artwork, and we are collaborating with both the artist and Barengi Gadjin Land Council representatives to begin work on the redesign of the silo art."
Yarriambiack Shire Council said it hoped to replace Marks' face on the artwork later this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Massive $90,000 fine for steelmakers after horror workplace injury
A company has been issued a massive fine after a worker's hand was pulled into a bending machine and sustained a 'partial degloving' WorkSafe Victoria said Retired AKZ Pty Ltd, which previously traded as AKZ Reinforcing Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to two separate workplace safety charges in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on Wednesday July 2. It was convicted and fined $90,000 after the incident that hospitalised the worker. The court heard the worker had been operating a machine designed to bend reinforced steel and was asked to do a type of bend he had not done before. One of the steel bars began to twist as he bent it, and he guided it back into the machine with his hand – as he had allegedly been taught. Unfortunately his glove was caught in the wired components of the bar and pulled his hand into the machine. The worker then sustained what WorkSafe Victoria termed a 'partial degloving' of his left index finger and was taken to hospital. An investigation by WorkSafe showed that a guard designed for the machine had not been fitted to its danger area, and the company's instructions to the worker 'directly contradicted' the machine's operating manual. The manual instructed workers to stay at least two metres away from the machine while it was operating. The court heard that the steelmaking company had a history of workplace health and safety offences including an incident in December 2024 for which it was fined $146,000 and three similar incidents with bending machines. The company has had five employees sustain serious finger injuries. WorkSafe Executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said AKZ's failure to learn from previous incidents should be a 'major red flag' to workers and the industry. 'WorkSafe keeps a watchful eye on businesses known for putting workers at risk and will continue taking enforcement action when appropriate,' Mr Jenkin said. 'Aside from the obvious – protecting workers from harm, avoiding tragedies and upholding legal duties – a company that prioritises health and safety generally has better reputation, stronger staff retention and less expenses in the long run.' The company had worked on major projects in Victoria including the Suburban Rail Loop and the West Gate Tunnel.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
ABC News apologises over on-air AFL blunder
An ABC News presenter has been forced to apologise to viewers after the program aired the wrong story. Presenter Ruby Cornish addressed viewers after a series of sports stories aired including an AFL report 'from a week ago' on Thursday night. Cornish initially read a headline in relation to a Collingwood member who was banned for five years over a 'highly inappropriate and threatening text message' aimed at the embattled Carlton coach Michael Voss. She revealed that an AFL investigation found a member of a rival club was behind the vile threat. However, the program then aired a video package from last week regarding Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick taking aim at the AFL in the wake of a league-wide change to umpire contact. The clip discussed the AFL's announcement that players hit with a fourth or subsequent careless umpire contact charge within the past two seasons will likely be sent straight to the tribunal. As the bulletin came to an end, Cornish swiftly addressed viewers at home who may have been left baffled by the mistake. 'Before we move on, just a quick apology,' began the reporter. 'A very short time ago, we played you an AFL story, which is actually from a week ago. 'That is not today's news,' she added. Earlier, Head of AFL integrity and security Tony Keane said no coach, player, official, staff member or fan should feel unsafe while at a game. 'The anti-social hotline at venues is designed to ensure everyone attending the match can do so in a safe and inclusive manner, and the majority of times this service is used appropriately,' he said. 'We understand there is passion in the game; however, the text message in question sent to the MCG hotline on Friday crossed the line. 'Regardless of the intent, no coach, player, official, staff member or fan deserves to be threatened in such a way, and now that patron has lost the privilege of attending the footy.'
SBS Australia
4 hours ago
- SBS Australia
PM says antisemitism is 'despicable', Special Envoy's plan is a basis to move forward
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called it a basis for moving forward. Combating not a new problem, he says, but one that remains insidious. "Antisemitism is an evil scourge and there is no place in Australia for antisemitism. The kind of hatred and violence that we've seen on our streets recently is despicable and it won't be tolerated. I want those responsible to face the full force of the law." Jillian Segal was appointed the Special Envoy on Antisemitism almost a year ago to the day. She's now calling for a national effort to address what she says is "one of the world's oldest hatreds". "The plan is grounded in Australian values - it's adaptive and it's adapted to our federal legal framework." Her plan to combat antisemitism warns that incidents have reached "deeply troubling levels" – surging by over 300 per cent. More than 2,000 cases were reported in the period between October 2023 and September 2024. "And that includes threats, vandalism, harassment and physical violence, we've seen cars being torched, synagogues being torched individuals Jews harassed and attacked. And that is completely unacceptable." In this last week alone, the Special Envoy highlighted an attempted arson attack on a Melbourne Synagogue as one such example, as well as the storming of an Israeli-owned restaurant by protesters. The group behind the action has disputed antisemitism was their motive. The Prime Minister says, regardless, there is no justification. "Whatever your issue in the Middle East - it is not advanced by attacking people here in Australia because of who they are, because of their faith, because of their identity." The report also identifies that "younger Australians are more likely than older Australians to hold antisemitic views". The Special Envoy's recommendations targeting areas across civil society from reviewing, and, where appropriate, strengthening anti-hate laws, education in schools, university reform, online regulation, and the role of public broadcasters. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry's Alex Ryvchin has backed the need for a wide-reaching response. "The fact that it is not merely something for the federal government, but it's across all society. The role of the government will be fundamental in this, in terms of both directly engaging the plan - implementing aspects of it, but also sending a clear message through society that this is the way forward and the expectation is that everyone will do their part." But others have expressed concern over the potential impact of the report's recommendations, if adopted. In a statement, the Jewish Council of Australia warned the plan risks undermining Australia's democratic freedoms, inflaming and entrenching selective approaches to racism that serve political agendas. Executive Officer Dr Max Kaiser told SBS he believes the report is misguided and could lead to a far-reaching crackdown on the ability to criticise Israel. "I mean, this is straight out of the Trump playbook. This is mislocating the problem of antisemitism as being a problem of migrants, cultural institutions, universities, and by implication, the protest movement. And we think that that is not the source of antisemitism. There are serious issues with antisemitism in Australian society, but they can't be dealt with in isolation. They have to be dealt with as part of much broader efforts to tackle racism as a whole in Australian society." The Prime Minister says the recommendations will be carefully considered.
