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Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain fights back tears on live TV over Melbourne childcare abuse scandal

Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain fights back tears on live TV over Melbourne childcare abuse scandal

Sky News AU2 days ago
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain has struggled to hold back tears while discussing allegations of child sex abuse during a live interview on Sky News Sunday Agenda.
In a deeply emotional moment, Ms McBain choked up as she reflected on the impact the alleged crimes would have on families across the country.
It comes after a man was charged with more than 70 offences of child sex abuse in Victoria.
'This is absolutely disgusting,' Ms McBain told Sky News Sunday Agenda.
'I think there are a lot of parents out there who are probably second guessing their thoughts on sending children to childcare, which is not what we want to see.'
Holding back tears, the mother of three shared her own experience of returning to work just months after her first child was born.
'My eldest child, I had to put her into daycare when she was five months old because I needed to get back to work to help us pay off the mortgage,' she said.
'I walked into the baby's room of that childcare centre, really hesitant about giving over care and responsibility for my child to someone else.
'I walked in and I knew two of the three carers that were in there. And I immediately felt a little bit better, but I know that's not the case for a range of parents out there.'
Ms McBain's emotional comments come after 26-year-old Joshua Brown, a former childcare worker, was charged with more than 70 child sex offences.
Some of the children were as young as five months old.
Victoria Police has said Brown, who has worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne since 2017, is accused of sexually penetrating a child under 12.
Other allegations include producing and transmitting child abuse material, and contaminating food with bodily fluids.
More than 1,200 children who may have come into contact with Brown have been urged to undergo STI testing.
The move has fuelled calls from some survivors and advocates for a blanket ban on men working in early childhood education.
Ms McBain did not weigh in on the controversial proposal to exclude male carers but reaffirmed the government's commitment to take action as she described the reports as "every parent's worst nightmare.'
'There'll be a range of measures that will be put in place by our government,' she said in response to a question about banning male carers.
'(Education Minister) Jason Clare has said that he'll bring legislation to the parliament in our first sitting,' she said.
'I just want to assure parents out there that we're going to do everything possible to make sure that those conversations (about abuse) don't have to take place.'
'This sort of thing does pull at your heartstrings… We will work really hard because what we've seen reported, I think, is every parent's worst nightmare.'
Education Minister Jason Clare has pledged urgent reforms, including new legislation allowing fraud investigators to make random, warrantless visits to childcare centres,
The use of CCTV in centres to monitor staff-child interactions has also been proposed as another measure to improve safety.
The broader national response may include reforms to working with children checks and better information sharing between states.
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