Industry leaders call for reform following childcare sex abuse
The latest, a 26-year-old childcare worker from Melbourne has been charged with more then 70 child sex offences prompting a major investigation involving more than two-and-a-half-thousand families across 20 child care centres across Victoria.
Authorities say it's a deeply distressing time for parents, urging at least 1,000 children to get tested for infectious diseases.
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News.com.au
19 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Why men should not work in childcare
I'm sympathetic to the good men in childcare. I really am. I've seen their work first hand. But they might need to be collateral damage here. Aussie children — those so small they can't yet talk, let alone advocate for themselves — are being put at risk because we're too afraid to offend some men. I am aware that this is an emotional subject. I don't know another parent who read the news this week about the alleged abuse of children in Melbourne childcare centres and didn't have that sinking feeling in their stomach. The details, still emerging, are truly sickening. But I am not making an emotional argument. Mine is borne out in facts. Most people don't know that between 2 and 4 per cent of those who choose childcare as their occupation in Australia are men. Many also would not know that the staggeringly overwhelming majority of sexual offences perpetrated against children in non-school educational premises is carried out by men. In NSW, for example, there were 142 horrific, unthinkable acts against our most vulnerable children in the year to March 2025. Do you know how many of those offenders were not men? Just two. It makes sense given what we know about men being responsible for the vast majority of sexual offences carried out against children. A study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology shows that men account for 98.3 per cent of child sex offenders in this country. 'Men sexually abuse children far more frequently than do women and some child sex offenders go to great lengths to have access to large numbers of children to abuse and in some cases even choose their employment based on this,' the study reads. 'It is clear that although women have far more opportunities than men to abuse children — as primary carers of children in the home and in child-centred occupations such as childcare and teaching — these opportunities are rarely acted on.' Offences against children are the most heinous. But offenders are not all equal. In childcare settings, particularly under the broken system that exists in Australia, offenders have the opportunity to abuse far greater numbers of children than in the home. The AIC study showed that 'men who molested out of home female children averaged 20 victims' and 'men who molested out of home male children were even more active . . . averaging 150 victims each'. Joshua Brown, 26, worked across 20 childcare centres around Melbourne before he was charged with more than 70 offences. The Point Cook man was arrested and charged after police allegedly discovered child abuse material. He is accused of sexual penetration of a child under 12, sex assault of a child under 16 and production of child abuse material. Eight alleged victims were from the Creative Gardens Early Learning Centre in Point Cook where he worked between 2022 and 2023. He remains before the courts, and has not entered any pleas. As reported exclusively on Wednesday, he is also accused of contaminating the food of the children in his care with 'bodily fluids'. He will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on September 15. The alleged crimes have sent a shockwave across the country and forced Victoria to undertake an urgent review of the childcare sector. Premier Jacinta Allan said Victoria would build its own register for childcare workers and institute a ban on childcare workers bringing phones to work from September 26. If a provider does not sign up, they face fines of up to $50,000. It is cold comfort for the horrified families of 1200 children who were told their tiny children should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases in the wake of Brown's arrest. The current checks and balances — including the the Working with Children Check — have proven ineffective in the past. A study in the Journal of Sexual Aggression in 2004 found that 15 per cent of professional perpetrators of sexual abuse against children — that is those who carried out the offending at work — 'chose their occupation (eg clergy, teaching, childcare) exclusively so they could sexually abuse children'. There are good men in childcare. But we cannot ignore the reality that evil men will target the profession as long as they are allowed to slip through the cracks.
9 News
28 minutes ago
- 9 News
How a meme could land you in hot water at the US border
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here It's every traveller's worst fear. You arrive in a new country after a long flight, line up for hours and present your passport – only to be pulled aside by an immigration officer. There have been multiple reports of Australian travellers being refused entry into the United States over seemingly frivolous reasons. There have been multiple reports recently of Australian travellers being refused entry into the US. (Anadolu via Getty Images) Some said they were asked to hand over their phone so officers can downloads its contents. One Norwegian man claimed he was denied because he had an unflattering meme of US Vice President JD Vance on his phone. An Australian writer, Alistair Kitchen, reported last month he was sent home after being interrogated about his blogging on political protests. He later claimed officials found "evidence of drug use" on his phone and he felt coerced into admitting he had tried drugs in the past. The threat of being detained and sent back home now lingers for Australians hoping to holiday in the US. But are immigration officers really ramping up their efforts to stop Australians and other nationalities from entering the US under the Trump administration? Melbourne-based immigration lawyer Sherwin Noorian told US officials are simply flexing a legal muscle that has always existed. Melbourne-based immigration lawyer Sherwin Noorian, principal lawyer of Globalised Pty Ltd. (Supplied) But Noorian said travellers shouldn't feel coerced into admitting prior drug use or their political beliefs to an immigration officer. "The US has very strict controlled substances laws for non-citizens who are travelling to the US, so even admitting to using marijuana once in one's home country… they can use that against the traveller and deny them entry," Noorian explained. "There's a bit of nuance to it and it may not legally stand up, but they can kind of do whatever they want at that point." Noorian's advice is to never "incriminate yourself" if you've never been convicted of anything. He's also noticed an "anecdotal" rise in reported cases of travellers being detained and their phones confiscated. It's always been done, but he posits the theory that immigration officers could now be using an "advanced computing system to scan the devices for anything they deem suspicious or of concern". He also said travellers do have a right to refuse a request to give up their phone, but warns this could result in automatic entry refusal. "It's a condition of entry, so to speak, that you would hand over that device when asked," he added. Noorian said travellers shouldn't feel coerced into admitting prior drug use or their political beliefs to an immigration officer. (Anadolu via Getty Images) Noorian said he is aware of reports that travellers are being turned away at the border over phone content that is critical of the Trump administration, including memes or political posts. He suspects travellers who have been granted an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) visa waiver may be flagged and interrogated at the border for a variety of reasons and sometimes it's not hard to find one that sticks. "That could be used, especially if they're high-profile, as a reason to take someone aside to question them and give them a hard time," he said. "If they're those types of officers who, and not all of them are like this, but some would be looking for people who are against the administration or against what they deem to be the US interest, they would use that as a reason to question someone and begin that interview." A meme alone wouldn't be enough to deny entry, Noorian said. "But through the course of that [interview], they would begin looking for what they can use to build a case to deny entry," he added. Noorian said the ESTA, which most Australians use to enter the US, does not guarantee entry. The first time a traveller is genuinely assessed under an ESTA, he said, is once you land on US soil. "For most people, they wait until they're in the country and then they say, 'OK, we're going to assess you for your eligibility to enter,'" he said. "I think the Smartraveller advice on this is really quite accurate when they say, be aware that the US authorities have a high level of discretion for visa waiver entries. "It means even more for an Australian traveller than someone coming from Canada or the UK." Most Australian travellers enter the US under the ESTA visa waiver. (PA Images via Getty Images) The current Smartraveller advice for Australians travelling to the US warns that "entry requirements are strict". "US authorities have broad powers to decide if you're eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law," the advice reads. All hope is not lost for a US holiday if you're denied entry under an ESTA, though. Noorian said he's had cases of clients being refused entry but then able to enter the US through a visitor visa obtained via the US consulate. "It's not a lifetime ban, they can reapply, but in this environment, it depends on the circumstances," he added. "If they admitted to drug use, that could be a big problem. "But it can be overcome. We've done that before." US Homeland Security officials have disputed that a Norwegian tourist was denied entry due to a meme and said he was turned away for admitting to drug use. Australia USA US POLITICS Donald Trump Travel immigration law CONTACT US Property News: Sixteen-person rental sparks outrage in US.
Canberra Times
43 minutes ago
- Canberra Times
Carey half-century steadies Aussies in second Test
But Australia were hit with another sucker punch in the last ball before lunch when Cameron Green was out for 26. The West Australian was caught chasing a Jayden Seales delivery by Windies skipper Roston Chase at gully, just as he was finding his groove.
