logo
Opposition calls on Labor to work together on childcare laws

Opposition calls on Labor to work together on childcare laws

West Australian3 days ago
Sussan Ley is calling on Anthony Albanese to work together on bolstering children's safety laws after horrific allegations of sex abuse at a childcare centre.
Last week, detectives arrested and charged Joshua Dale Brown, 26, with more than 70 offences, including child rape and possession of child abuse material.
He was a worker at a Melbourne childcare centre and had a working with children check.
The Opposition Leader said on Monday it was 'an incredible betrayal'.
'I just felt physically sick when I heard this,' Ms Ley told Seven's Sunrise.
'So I have written to the Prime Minister in good faith to offer our constructive engagement in the lead-up to parliament returning so that we can have legislation ready to go to actually act once and for all, to do what I think every parent would expect, and every community member would expect, to make sure our children are safe in childcare settings.'
A royal commission into child sexual abuse was completed in late 2017.
Ms Ley was the assistant education minister responsible for childcare when the inquiry started in 2013.
She also held ministerial positions in the Coalition governments during the royal commission and after it.
Asked if last week's allegations were a 'failure of the Coalition', Ms Ley insisted that her side got the ball rolling and Labor kept up momentum.
'Now, we certainly need that work to be accelerated,' she said.
Pressed on what the Coalition did when it received the royal commission's final report, she said the states and territories held most of the responsibility.
Though, she was quick to deny that she was blaming state and territory governments.
'I'm not stepping back from saying that things need to be done, but I am recognising that state governments do own a lot of this,' Ms Ley said.
'For example, the Victorian state government has, if I can describe them, weaker working with children checks than any other state.
'And we all need the states to step up and own this because if they just say, as they often do in these instances, we want our system to prevail, then they're not acting either.'
She added that federal intervention 'won't necessarily cover every single working with children check' because they were a state-level responsibility, but it would 'cover other measures that can take place in childcare centres that the Commonwealth may be able to hold some levers of control'.
Education Minister Jason Clare last week vowed to introduce legislation that would let Canberra cut federal funds to childcare centres that 'aren't up to scratch' on children's safety.
He said funding was one big lever the federal government could pull.
In a separate case, the Herald Sun revealed over the weekend that a man convicted of accessing nearly 1000 images of child abuse material visited childcare centres while awaiting prosecution for some three years.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Not important': Liberal leader Sussan Ley dismisses quota criticism in pitch to women
‘Not important': Liberal leader Sussan Ley dismisses quota criticism in pitch to women

News.com.au

timean hour ago

  • News.com.au

‘Not important': Liberal leader Sussan Ley dismisses quota criticism in pitch to women

Opposition leader Sussan Ley has dismissed backlash to calls for a gender quota within the Liberal Party as not 'important', as she pitched 'vital' policy changes for women. It comes after reports former Liberal Party vice president Teena McQueen described the organiser of a NSW Liberal Party branch petition for a gender quota as a 'moron'. Asked about the comment and backlash within the NSW Liberals to the idea of a quota, Ms Ley told reporters on Thursday she 'didn't actually think that's important'. 'I'm not going to go into the descriptions that may or may not have been given to certain points of view … What I welcome is the constructive debate,' Ms Ley said. 'I will make it clear every single day that we do need to improve, increase female representation in our party and that means through the pre-selection processes and in our parliament. 'Now, the Liberal Party state divisions have the final responsibility for that. So I welcome any ideas they may put forward. 'I'm agnostic about what those methods may be, but I am an absolute zealot that we have higher female representations and that we reflect the role of women in our party and in our policies.' The new Liberal leader has not specifically endorsed or disendorsed introducing gender quotas in her quest to recruit more women to the party. Ms Ley met with about 30 women business and community leaders on Thursday, which she said would help inform the party's future policies. She told reporters it was critical the party listen to women following its bruising loss at the federal election in May. 'It is absolutely vital we fix our policies going forward,' Ms Ley said. Asked about what policy changes the party was willing to consider, Ms Ley said they were still under review. 'Lots of policies are being raised and it's important that in this listening phase, I remind people that our policies are under review, and that's important because we got smashed at the last election, and we need to examine those policies,' she said. 'Shadow ministers will be doing that work, and then we need to continue to consult, to engage, and most importantly, to listen.' Ms Ley said they had received 'terrific feedback' on Thursday, with women voicing concerns especially around cost of living and childcare. 'I know what the struggle is when you feel like you have to do so much, but you can't achieve it all,' she said. 'Women often take that burden on the caring responsibilities of responsibilities in the home. 'The statistics tell us that it is still women who are doing all of those things, and that's why we need women's policies, and that will be very prominent in the policy development that we undertake.'

Sussan Ley commended over ‘calm' and ‘reasonable' responses to real issues
Sussan Ley commended over ‘calm' and ‘reasonable' responses to real issues

Sky News AU

timean hour ago

  • Sky News AU

Sussan Ley commended over ‘calm' and ‘reasonable' responses to real issues

Political strategist and adviser Yaron Finkelstein claims Opposition leader Sussan Ley has 'moderated' the Coalition's responses to the government's actions and real issues. 'It's steady, it's calm, it's reasonable for the most part, and that's how they have to be,' he told Sky News Australia. 'They (Australians) don't want to hear everything at volume 11, and I think Sussan understands that.'

‘Abuse of power': Chalmers seeking to bypass parliament and impose little-known clause to ‘unilaterally' expand super, unrealised gains tax
‘Abuse of power': Chalmers seeking to bypass parliament and impose little-known clause to ‘unilaterally' expand super, unrealised gains tax

Sky News AU

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News AU

‘Abuse of power': Chalmers seeking to bypass parliament and impose little-known clause to ‘unilaterally' expand super, unrealised gains tax

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has said the Albanese government cannot be trusted after it was discovered Treasurer Jim Chalmers had embedded an arcane provision within the super, unrealised gains tax legislation that would allow the government to expand the policy after it passes parliament. Labor's plan to hike the tax rate from 15 to 30 per cent on super accounts with over $3 million has caused widespread uproar, with fund managers, economists and union bosses joining forces to fiercely denounce the policy. Industry magnates have argued the policy would alter the behaviour of the entire superannuation industry and spark frantic mass sell offs despite the government claiming it would only impact a small portion of Australians. The government's plan to target unrealised capital gains, which are profits made before the asset is sold and its refusal to index the threshold has also sparked alarm, with critics stating the policy is both reckless and unprecedented in nature. However, in a major development in The Australian that the Treasurer has embedded a clause deep within the legislation which would allow him to make modifications to the policy after it passes parliament. Section 296-60, dubbed a Henry VIII clause would give Mr Chalmers special powers to alter the bill as he sees fit without parliamentary oversight, with some political theorists labelling the move unconstitutional. The potential modifications could include the Treasurer increasing the number of individuals impacted by the tax, whether a superannuants interest is in retirement phase, if the interest of an individuals superannuation is a defined benefit interest and removing exemptions for certain superannuation funds. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley labelled clause as 'ridiculous' and said the government was saying one thing but doing another. 'Revelations today that sneaky Jim Chalmers is adding extra measures to this taxation proposal that will allow Labour to raise the rate in the future, is ridiculous and it offends every principle of our taxation system,' Ms Ley told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. 'How can you actually trust this government with a measure which allows them to raise the rate if and when they choose without consultation from the Australian parliament and the Australian people.' Ms Ley said the policy and the imposition of the provision 'should offend every single Australian.' Meanwhile, Director of Research at the Institute of Public Affairs Morgan Begg denounced the implementation of an executive clause within the policy and said the move was 'an extraordinary abuse of power.' 'It is an extraordinary abuse of power for the Treasurer to be given the power to change laws as he sees fits without the consent of parliament,' Mr Begg said. 'If the Treasurer supposedly needs this extraordinary power to change the law to smooth over unintended consequences, this itself confirms the proposed law is fundamentally flawed.' Mr Begg also drew attention to a section of the legislation that would enforce different laws for different people and reiterated that this undermined fundamental democratic practices. 'What's worse is that the proposed bill explicitly allows the Treasurer to make changes to the law 'in relation to an individual in different ways' meaning different people could be subject to different laws, violating the most basic principles of the rule of law,' Mr Begg said. 'Unilaterally granting powers to amend this law, according to the tax revenue being brought in, shows this as nothing but a brazen tax grab by the federal government.' The clause will also severely limit the influence of the Greens who the government needs to work with to pass the legislation in the Senate, with Mr Chalmers now able to freely amend or redact negotiated amendments. The policies threshold, which is currently set at $3 million could also be amended after the fact by the Treasurer. Mr Chalmers has not directly provided a justification for imposing the contentious clause, but it is understood his office views the provision as routine procedure to ensure that necessary changes can be swiftly made to legislation if need be. Treasury predicts the tax will generate $2.3 billion in its first year and over $40 billion over the next decade.

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