Sylvia Jeffreys breaks down when discussing Melbourne childcare worker charged with abuse: ‘The system has failed'
The mother of two got emotional as she and fill-in co-host Richard Wilkins discussed the sickening news story in a segment on Wednesday's broadcast, one day after police charged a 26-year-old man for more than 70 counts of child abuse.
'They are all allegations at this point of course, but they have rocked every parent,' Jeffreys said on air. 'They have rocked the industry. It is deeply disturbing, but it is not an isolated incident.'
'There have been media reports for many months now of abuse and neglect in for-profit childcare centres. The system has failed these families, the system has failed these children and it has failed the many wonderful educators who work in the industry as well.'
Joshua Brown from Point Cook was charged with offences including sexual activity in presence of a child under 16, sexual assault of a child under 16 and possessing child abuse material.
Distressed families gathered outside a Point Cook facility at the centre of the investigation on Tuesday, trying to find answers as the allegations sent waves of fear and confusion through the community.
Jeffreys feels their pain and says the federal government needs to step in to ensure this never happens in Australian child care centres again.
'Nothing could be more urgent than this issue right now because there will be parents this morning who will feel reluctant to drop their child at day-care today, and that should never be the case,' Jeffreys added before fighting back tears.
'I'm sorry. No, no, it is so hard. It is. It is so hard to even talk about it, let alone go through this. The parents who are going through this this morning, it needs to be at the top of federal, the federal government's agenda today and tomorrow and every day until we see change.'
Wilkins, who was sat next to Jeffreys offering his support, told her, 'You speak for the nation. Sylvia.'
A widespread investigation has now been launched, with Victoria's chief health officer saying 1200 children have been recommended to undergo infectious diseases testing.
Victoria Police say Brown's charges relate to eight children who were placed at a Point Cook childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023.
The families of the eight alleged victims have been notified, and offered available support services.
Police are alleging the children targeted were aged between five months and two years.
Brown has been remanded in custody and will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 15.
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ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
How easy is it to trick the Australian Taxation Office?
Sam Hawley: How easy is it to trick the Australian Tax Office? Well, for fraudsters it's not hard at all and plenty have done it costing taxpayers billions of dollars that have never been recovered. Today, Angus Grigg on his Four Corners investigation into the biggest GST scam in history and how the ATO dropped the ball. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. Sam Hawley: Angus, you've been hard at work looking into what's going on at the Australian Tax Office. And you've really been having a deep look into this huge GST scam. Now, this unfolded in no other than Mildura in north-west Victoria. So, take me there and tell me about local resident Sarah. Angus Grigg: Yeah. Mildura is a really beautiful town, an irrigation town on the Murray in North West Victoria. And this GST scam really took off in Mildura. And it really was circulating within a sort of population that you might say is low socioeconomic groups, people on welfare, people with addiction issues. And we went to interview one person called Sarah. She was going through quite a bit of financial hardship at the time. I think she'd separated from her partner who was facing pretty serious charges at the time as well. And she was short of money because she needed to have some dental work done. So one of her friends showed her how to use a business that had been registered and an ABN linked to GST to claim GST refunds fraudulently. 'Sarah': The people that I was associating with at that time, they had done it and told me how easy it was to get a large amount of money quickly. And I just thought at the time it was a good idea because I was in a bit of financial trouble. Angus Grigg: She pretended, if you like, to be a hairdresser, despite the fact that she had no hairdressing qualifications. She'd never worked in a hairdresser, hadn't hired premises, had no equipment. And so she logged into her myGov account and first of all, claimed $15,000 and then did it a second time and got another $15,000. 'Sarah': I don't even really still understand how it went through. I was a single parent and then all of a sudden I'm a hairdresser that's getting this return put into my account with no other payments from clients or anything like that to balance it was needed. Like no proof. Angus Grigg: Now, bear in mind, the money went into the same account as her welfare payments and the money went within about 10 days without any verification, without any checks, without anyone from the tax office ringing and saying, what did you spend this money on? Do you have hairdressing qualifications? Have you hired premises? You know, she just absolutely couldn't believe how easy it was. 'Sarah': Yeah, I just couldn't believe it that it was just sitting there on my everyday access debit bank card. Angus Grigg: Now, the other thing to bear in mind, to receive a GST refund of $30,000, she would have needed to have capital expenditure or bought stock and other items for her hairdressing business of about $300,000. Now, surely a single mother living on welfare, getting family tax benefits, that should have been a red flag for the tax office. Sam Hawley: Wow. Okay. So Sarah, which is not her real name, just by the way, you've changed that for this story to keep her anonymous. She just tells the ATO she's a hairdresser and then the tax office falls for it. That's extraordinary. Angus Grigg: It is. And the fact that you don't need a receipt, you don't need any proof of the line of work you're in is extraordinary. And that's because the tax office basically fired most of the humans in the loop and started relying on algorithms or computers, if you like, to make these payments. They wanted to ensure the timely payment of GST refunds to businesses. But in doing that, they really opened the door up to fraud. Sam Hawley: Right. Sure. So the tax office wants to streamline things. But in the meantime, people like Sarah are all of a sudden dabbling in fraud. And as we've mentioned, she's not the only one. There's a lot of other people doing a very similar thing. Tell me about Linden Phillips. What was he up to? Angus Grigg: Linden Phillips, once again from Mildura, for us, he was like patient zero. It looks like he was the really one of the very, very early people in this scam. So what happens is that Linden Phillips gets out of jail in August 2021. And he already has a company registered. And so he reactivates his GST registration through his ABN and his MyGov account. And then within a couple of weeks of getting out of jail, he does what I'd sort of call a test run. And he claims $13,000 in GST refunds from the tax office. Once again, no documents, no receipts, no verification required. He gets that money within a couple of weeks and clearly then thinks, OK, I'm going to go for the big one. And so what he does is he lodges 46 backdated GST claims for an amount of $821,000 in GST. And the real kicker here is that for most of the period those GST claims are lodged, he's actually in jail. Sam Hawley: Oh my gosh. Angus Grigg: I know. He just couldn't make it up. Sam Hawley: What does he do with all that money? Angus Grigg: Well, of course, he spends it, right? Within a couple of weeks, the money's completely gone. He buys himself a second-hand Porsche. Somewhat endearingly, he buys his mother a house. But the really damning thing here is that the tax office notice it. Finally, someone, there's a human in the loop and they pick up the fact that, hey, maybe something's a bit wrong here. And so they ring him up and he says, oh yeah, no, it's all legitimate. I'll get my accountant to call you. The accountant never calls. They send him some emails. They write him some letters. He ignores them all. And the really damning thing here is the tax office does nothing for four months. And in that four month period, this scam absolutely explodes. So what we did is we went back and we deconstructed, if you like, the tax office's narrative. And the narrative was that this fraud took off on social media. The tax office noticed it. They cracked down really hard, really quickly, and they brought it under control. Now we sort about testing that idea. Sam Hawley: So the ATO says it did this great job. It cracked down on this fraud. But what actually happened? Because you actually had a look at that and discovered, in fact, the ATO didn't do much at all. Angus Grigg: No, exactly. So Linden Phillips does finally get caught, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the ATO. It all comes down to the smarts of a local detective in Mildura named Vanessa Power. Now, she is attending Phillips's house on a drugs and gun charge, and she searches his premises, his house, and she confiscates a phone. And using the sort of smarts that the ATO should be employing, she sees that on his phone there appears to be a pretty elaborate GST scam. And in fact, it looks as though that Linden Phillips had helped 60 other people perpetrate this scam. Linden Phillips is arrested. And then a few weeks later, the ATO finally launch what they call Operation Protego, which is to crack down on this GST scam. Sam Hawley: Wow. Okay. And at that point, of course, Sarah, who we spoke about earlier, she was also arrested back in December 2022. But the thing is, the money, it's sort of gone, right? 'Sarah': I can't pay it back. It's not even an option at the moment. Or it probably never will be. Sam Hawley: Is there any way the tax office can actually get these funds back? Angus Grigg: Well, this is the point, right? In the end, $2 billion was stolen from the tax system by 56,000 people. Now, the ATO tell us that of those 56,000 people who perpetrated this scam, just 120, I think it might be 122 now, have been convicted. Secondly, of the $2 billion stolen, the ATO tells us that only 160 million, or around 8% of that, has been recovered. Sam Hawley: And, Angus, that money, it really is just a drop in the ocean, right? Because you've also looked at all the other funds that the ATO hasn't managed to collect, and you've spoken to Karen Payne. Now, she's a former Inspector General of Taxation. She basically says if the ATO had collected what it was owed, then we would all be paying less tax. Angus Grigg: Yeah. Karen Payne, she really focused on what's called collectible debt. And that is this sort of giant number that the ATO doesn't like to talk about. And when she started looking at it, it was about $30 billion. Then it rose to about $50 billion. The figure is now $53 billion. And that is the amount of money or taxes that the ATO has levied, if you like, but not collected. Karen Payne, Inspector General of Taxation, 2019-24: The large percentage of the debts that were due were in fact owned by a very small number of taxpayers or they're related to a small number of taxpayer accounts. So you'd kind of think it's a small number of people you need to be chasing. Angus Grigg: And the point that Karen Payne was making is that if we collected all that tax, perhaps we would not have to pay as much tax, all of us, but also we'd have more money to spend on really basic things like schools, roads and hospitals. Karen Payne, Inspector General of Taxation, 2019-24: The fact that it keeps rising is troubling. So it's fundamental, I think, that we've got good administration of the tax system because the integrity of the tax system is fundamentally important to all of us. It pays for all of the services that we benefit from. Sam Hawley: Angus, despite everything that you have said, which is frankly really concerning, the ATO itself thinks it's doing a pretty good job, right? Because Chris Jordan, who was the tax commissioner up until 2024, he's been putting a rather positive spin on the ATO's work. Angus Grigg: Yeah. This is the really extraordinary thing. Despite all these scandals, the ATO tells us they are doing a great job. Just before Chris Jordan stepped down as tax commissioner, he did a victory lap, if you like, at the National Press Club, and he pointed out all the great, terrific things that the ATO has done. Chris Jordan, Tax Commissioner, 2013-24: We've successfully charted a massive program of transformation. We've cut red tape and we've modernised our administration of the tax system as part of the digital revolution to make tax just happen.
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
New police chief reveals firm stance on protest permits, issues warning to organised crime
On Sunday, pro-Palestine protesters marched through the city to the National Gallery of Victoria. Security closed the entry while police monitored the rally outside. There has been fierce debate about what constitutes hate speech by attendees, who have repeatedly been heard chanting 'Death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]' and 'Death to the IOF [Israeli Occupying Force]'. Former Victorian governor Linda Dessau said last week the slogans were hate speech and that those who use them should be prosecuted. In his first interview with The Age since arriving from New Zealand, Bush also insisted he had the 'utmost confidence' in the protracted police investigation into the firebombing of a Ripponlea synagogue last December, an attack which drew international condemnation. Speaking on a wide range of issues, Bush warned that serious youth offenders would face prison if they continued to endanger community safety, that organised criminals and outlaw motorcycle gangs would 'feel the heat' under his watch and that a taskforce established to investigate underworld infiltration of the CFMEU was making progress. The 65-year-old has spent most of his first month in the top job consulting community groups and government departments, while also visiting more than a dozen stations from Warrnambool to St Kilda. Lured out of retirement by the Allan government, Bush is keenly aware of the challenges ahead but hopes to replicate his success while serving as New Zealand's police commissioner from 2014 until 2020. Restoring public trust in the force will be one of Bush's most pressing concerns, following an unprecedented slump over the past three years. Just 55 per cent of Victorians were likely to have confidence in Victoria Police, according to an annual survey released in May, which was 20 per cent lower than the previous financial year. Bush insists that figure needs to be above 80 per cent. 'We are taking that survey on the chin, we are not hiding from it, we know what we need to do,' he said. 'We have to be operationally excellent, we have to be out there preventing crime, we've got to respond properly, and our investigations have to be first-class,' he said. Bush says there needed to be a 'hard edge and a soft edge' in the response to youth crime, which has soared to the highest rates since records began, and sparked widespread community anger. 'At the hard end, there has to be a consequence, and they must know there is a consequence. They do things that risk their own lives and risk the lives and safety of others, so at the tough end there has to be a consequence, and sometimes that consequence will be the loss of their liberty,' he said. He declined to discuss whether bail laws in Victoria were too lenient, but confirmed he had spoken with the state government over the past week regarding further reforms. The soft edge, according to Bush, will involve widespread community and government engagement, with a focus on crime prevention. He concedes the approach will take some time. 'We come to work to make a difference, so if you're not stopping stuff before it starts, you're really just turning up after the act. There is a massive obligation on us to prevent crime and harm, and we'll be changing the way we work to make sure we do a lot more of that,' he said. During his tenure as a senior officer in New Zealand, Bush was credited with implementing a crime prevention model that helped reduce offending by 20 per cent between 2010 and 2014. Public satisfaction with policing also rose 5 points to 84 per cent at the same time. However, in Victoria he has inherited a force that is struggling to fill 1100 vacant positions, has morale issues and is expected to lose a further 300 senior officers by the end of the year, when a golden handshake deal from the previous enterprise bargaining agreement expires. Bush recognises the urgent need for more boots on the ground. 'We are going to streamline our recruitment process and make it quicker for people to come into the business. It's quite a protracted process to find resilient people who are committed to the cause, but we have to attract the right people,' he said. Loading His blueprint for retaining existing officers includes the removal of duplication of paperwork and forging a partnership with New Zealand police to bolster the force's technological capabilities. Bush has the demeanour of someone from a military background: a man who might relish cold showers, hard beds and rigorous gym sessions before dawn. He has a stern warning for Victoria's crooks. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement. The community should not tolerate the behaviour that they bring to the state ... they need to be clearly in our sights.' He confirmed he was also reviewing the efficacy of Victoria's asset-confiscation laws. Such laws were beefed up in New Zealand when he was commissioner. Bush would not discuss Iraq-based underworld figure Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad, widely considered to be responsible for more than 100 arson attacks on tobacco outlets and several murders, other than to say that Victoria Police was working closely with global law enforcement agencies. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement.' Mike Bush, police chief commissioner Operation Hawk – the police taskforce established after The Age 's Building Bad series exposed allegations that gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU – was also adequately resourced and making headway, according to Bush. He has been a regular visitor to Melbourne over the years and has settled in quickly. He has found an apartment in the city's inner-east, discovered new restaurants and cafes, and thrown his support behind the Richmond Football Club.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
New police chief reveals firm stance on protest permits, issues warning to organised crime
On Sunday, pro-Palestine protesters marched through the city to the National Gallery of Victoria. Security closed the entry while police monitored the rally outside. There has been fierce debate about what constitutes hate speech by attendees, who have repeatedly been heard chanting 'Death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]' and 'Death to the IOF [Israeli Occupying Force]'. Former Victorian governor Linda Dessau said last week the slogans were hate speech and that those who use them should be prosecuted. In his first interview with The Age since arriving from New Zealand, Bush also insisted he had the 'utmost confidence' in the protracted police investigation into the firebombing of a Ripponlea synagogue last December, an attack which drew international condemnation. Speaking on a wide range of issues, Bush warned that serious youth offenders would face prison if they continued to endanger community safety, that organised criminals and outlaw motorcycle gangs would 'feel the heat' under his watch and that a taskforce established to investigate underworld infiltration of the CFMEU was making progress. The 65-year-old has spent most of his first month in the top job consulting community groups and government departments, while also visiting more than a dozen stations from Warrnambool to St Kilda. Lured out of retirement by the Allan government, Bush is keenly aware of the challenges ahead but hopes to replicate his success while serving as New Zealand's police commissioner from 2014 until 2020. Restoring public trust in the force will be one of Bush's most pressing concerns, following an unprecedented slump over the past three years. Just 55 per cent of Victorians were likely to have confidence in Victoria Police, according to an annual survey released in May, which was 20 per cent lower than the previous financial year. Bush insists that figure needs to be above 80 per cent. 'We are taking that survey on the chin, we are not hiding from it, we know what we need to do,' he said. 'We have to be operationally excellent, we have to be out there preventing crime, we've got to respond properly, and our investigations have to be first-class,' he said. Bush says there needed to be a 'hard edge and a soft edge' in the response to youth crime, which has soared to the highest rates since records began, and sparked widespread community anger. 'At the hard end, there has to be a consequence, and they must know there is a consequence. They do things that risk their own lives and risk the lives and safety of others, so at the tough end there has to be a consequence, and sometimes that consequence will be the loss of their liberty,' he said. He declined to discuss whether bail laws in Victoria were too lenient, but confirmed he had spoken with the state government over the past week regarding further reforms. The soft edge, according to Bush, will involve widespread community and government engagement, with a focus on crime prevention. He concedes the approach will take some time. 'We come to work to make a difference, so if you're not stopping stuff before it starts, you're really just turning up after the act. There is a massive obligation on us to prevent crime and harm, and we'll be changing the way we work to make sure we do a lot more of that,' he said. During his tenure as a senior officer in New Zealand, Bush was credited with implementing a crime prevention model that helped reduce offending by 20 per cent between 2010 and 2014. Public satisfaction with policing also rose 5 points to 84 per cent at the same time. However, in Victoria he has inherited a force that is struggling to fill 1100 vacant positions, has morale issues and is expected to lose a further 300 senior officers by the end of the year, when a golden handshake deal from the previous enterprise bargaining agreement expires. Bush recognises the urgent need for more boots on the ground. 'We are going to streamline our recruitment process and make it quicker for people to come into the business. It's quite a protracted process to find resilient people who are committed to the cause, but we have to attract the right people,' he said. Loading His blueprint for retaining existing officers includes the removal of duplication of paperwork and forging a partnership with New Zealand police to bolster the force's technological capabilities. Bush has the demeanour of someone from a military background: a man who might relish cold showers, hard beds and rigorous gym sessions before dawn. He has a stern warning for Victoria's crooks. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement. The community should not tolerate the behaviour that they bring to the state ... they need to be clearly in our sights.' He confirmed he was also reviewing the efficacy of Victoria's asset-confiscation laws. Such laws were beefed up in New Zealand when he was commissioner. Bush would not discuss Iraq-based underworld figure Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad, widely considered to be responsible for more than 100 arson attacks on tobacco outlets and several murders, other than to say that Victoria Police was working closely with global law enforcement agencies. 'Bikie gangs and other organised crime groups really need to feel the heat from law enforcement.' Mike Bush, police chief commissioner Operation Hawk – the police taskforce established after The Age 's Building Bad series exposed allegations that gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU – was also adequately resourced and making headway, according to Bush. He has been a regular visitor to Melbourne over the years and has settled in quickly. He has found an apartment in the city's inner-east, discovered new restaurants and cafes, and thrown his support behind the Richmond Football Club.
