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Daily Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Daily Telegraph
‘Profoundly sorry': Horror as child slapped by worker
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parenting. Followed categories will be added to My News. A disturbing Snapchat video of a child being slapped by a worker for entertainment has been obtained by the ABC as part of an investigation into one of Australia's biggest childcare providers. The nine-second video, which was taken at Affinity Education centre in Sydney's inner west in South Strathfield, shows the child crying in a bouncer as they are slapped in the face multiple times by the worker. Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. The footage was reportedly posted to Snapchat with a laughing emoji in May 2023. The video was obtained by ABC's 7.30. The program gained access to a stack of internal regulatory documents following a parliamentary order obtained by Greens MP Abigail Boyd. Affinity Education, which is privately owned, runs 250 childcare centres across the country, and includes the brands Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy. The worker has since resigned from the centre and was convicted of common assault. She was given a community corrections order and banned from working in childcare for 12 months. The colleague who filmed the video has also resigned. Affinity Education CEO Tim Hickey said the centre acted quickly after being notified of the incident by police. 'The safety, wellbeing, and development of every child must always come first,' Affinity CEO Tim Hickey said in a statement after declining an interview by ABC's 7.30. The childcare worker was convicted by police. Picture: ABC 'I want to express again how profoundly sorry I am that something like this could occur to any child in our care. 'These incidents are not representative of the dedicated, professional team who care for children every day across thousands of centres.' The ABC said that between 2021 and 2024, Affinity centres across NSW had received more than 1700 regulatory breaches, clocking up more than one a day. Despite this, they have been fined less than $2000. The ABC also obtained footage of a worker dragging a toddler by the arm at a centre in Elderslie, in south-west Sydney. Former Affinity employee Loretta Dodwell, who worked at a Queensland centre, said the culture at the education company was 'toxic'. 'The cost cutting and the lack of staff really caused serious incidents in the centre,' she told 7.30. 'They were also putting on lots of trainees, like young trainees that were cheap to employ and that put a lot of pressure on the qualified staff.' This story was republished with permission from Originally published as 'Profoundly sorry': Horror as child slapped by worker
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Profoundly sorry': Horror as child slapped by worker
A disturbing Snapchat video of a child being slapped by a worker for entertainment has been obtained by the ABC as part of an investigation into one of Australia's biggest childcare providers. The nine-second video, which was taken at Affinity Education centre in Sydney's inner west in South Strathfield, shows the child crying in a bouncer as they are slapped in the face multiple times by the worker. The footage was reportedly posted to Snapchat with a laughing emoji in May 2023. The video was obtained by ABC's 7.30, who gained access to a stack of internal regulatory documents following a parliamentary order obtained by Greens MP Abigail Boyd. Affinity Education, which is privately owned runs 250 childcare centres across the country, includes the brands Papilio, Milestones and Kids Academy. The worker has since resigned from the centre and was convicted of common assault. She was given a community corrections order and banned from working in childcare for 12 months. The colleague who filmed the video has also resigned. Affinity Education CEO Tim Hickey said the centre acted quickly after being notified of the incident by police. 'The safety, wellbeing, and development of every child must always come first,' Affinity CEO Tim Hickey said in a statement after declining an interview by ABC's 7.30. 'I want to express again how profoundly sorry I am that something like this could occur to any child in our care. 'These incidents are not representative of the dedicated, professional team who care for children every day across thousands of centres.' The ABC said that between 2021 and 2024, Affinity centres across NSW had received more than 1,700 regulatory breaches, clocking up more than one a day. Despite this, they have been fined less than $2000. The ABC also obtained footage of a worker dragging a toddler by the arm at a centre in Elderslie, in south-west Sydney, Former Affinity employee Loretta Dodwell, who worked at a Queensland centre, said the culture at the education company was 'toxic'. 'The cost cutting and the lack of staff really caused serious incidents in the centre,' she told 7.30. 'They were also putting on lots of trainees, like young trainees that were cheap to employ and that put a lot of pressure on the qualified staff.'
Daily Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
Nurses and midwives allowed to prescribe abortion drugs under a bill set to pass parliament
The Catholic Archdiocese says amendments to contentious abortion reform legislation are a 'helpful development', with a watered-down bill set to pass parliament this week. Experienced nurses and midwives will be allowed to prescribe abortion drugs to women in the first nine weeks of their pregnancy under the legislation, which is expected to go to a vote on Wednesday. The legislation will expand women's access to medical abortions, but will not force medical professionals to facilitate terminations if they object to the practice. Upper House Greens MP Amanda Cohn sparked a series of protests outside parliament when she introduced her bill to expand access to abortions, with speakers including former prime minister Tony Abbott labelling the legislation as an attack on religion. Protesters attend an anti-abortion rally outside NSW parliament last week. Picture: Supplied Mr Abbott and others were campaigning against changes which would have forced doctors who object to providing abortions to refer patients elsewhere. However, the aspects of the bill which created the most controversy were removed before the legislation passed the upper house. 'While it is a helpful development that the intended attacks on conscience have been removed from the bill, we still hope the bill will be rejected in its entirety,' a Catholic Archdiocese spokeswoman said. Former prime minister Tony Abbott speaks at an anti-abortion rally outside NSW parliament last week. Picture: Facebook Protesters attend anti-abortion rally outside NSW parliament on Wednesday May 7, 2025. Picture: Supplied The legislation which is expected to pass into law will allow endorsed midwives and nurse practitioners to prescribe the abortion drug MS-2 Step to medically terminate a pregnancy in the first nine weeks of gestation. Nurse practitioners and midwives will only be allowed to prescribe the drug if it is within their scope of practice. Allowing nurse practitioners and midwives to administer abortion drugs was recommended by a NSW Health inquiry into abortion laws, which found there were difficulty accessing the service in some areas of the state. Mr Minns originally opposed the legislation, but on Monday confirmed he would vote for the amended bill, now the provisions on conscientious objection have been removed. Liberal and Labor politicians will vote according to their conscience, and not be bound to party lines. Opposition health spokeswoman Kellie Sloane will also vote in favour of the legislation. 'I could not have supported the original version of this bill – it went beyond what I considered reasonable or workable, but I support the amended version,' she said. NSW Greens MLC Amanda Cohn. Picture: Facebook '(The amended bill) aligns with TGA guidelines, reflects the number one recommendation from the NSW Health statutory review, and brings NSW into line with every other state except Tasmania. 'It's a sensible, tightly scoped reform that improves access while preserving safeguards and respecting professional conscience.' Dr Cohn confirmed the Greens would support the bill 'as it currently stands'. The legislation will also make no changes to a requirement for two doctors to approve abortion after 22 weeks gestation. It will also make no change to the 'duty owed' by healthcare workers to provide medical care to a baby born due to a failed termination. She blamed anti-abortion campaigners for spreading 'disinformation' over her bill, which had 'caused unnecessary distress in the community'.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bid ensure abortion access reopens political rifts
Nurses and midwives would be able to prescribe drugs for medical abortions in a plan causing rifts within major parties and prompting a former prime minister to speak out. The bill from a Greens MP that aims to overcome abortion deserts across NSW has sparked large protests outside parliament and one MP to backtrack "insensitive language" invoking the Nazis during a debate this week. Votes on the legislation will also likely divide major parties with Labor, Liberals and the Nationals allowing MPs to vote on their conscience. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The MP authoring the bill says abortion is legal but not always accessible, particularly in rural and regional areas. Amanda Cohn's proposed reforms would require the state to ensure services were available within a "reasonable distance" among other tweaks to the law. Health Minister Ryan Park says changes on abortion drugs reflect what is happening elsewhere. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) Health Minister Ryan Park told reporters on Thursday he would consider supporting nurses and midwives being able to prescribe abortion drugs. "That reflects what's happening in other jurisdictions and the changes that the (Therapeutic Goods Administration) has made," he said. But the minister does not support proposed changes to compel conscientious objectors to facilitate the procedures, and to lift mandatory reporting for health workers. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Senior Nationals MP Sarah Mitchell told parliament Mr Park and future health ministers need to ensure women could access abortion services near their home. "It should not be dependent on where someone lives or their postcode." But she did not support making it a legislative requirement. Former prime minister Tony Abbott framed the abortion bill as an attack on freedom of conscience. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott framed the bill as an attack on people's right to act on their moral beliefs. "Freedom of conscience should be at the heart of any decent, civilised society and this legislation which is about to be rammed through the state parliament is a fundamental assault on freedom of conscience," he told an anti-abortion rally outside parliament on Wednesday night. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Sydney MP Alex Greenwich told AAP Dr Cohn's bill builds on the legislation he introduced to decriminalise abortion in 2019. Allowing nurses and midwives to prescribe abortion drugs would address concerns about access in regional and rural areas. "That is a really straightforward change but it will make a huge difference," he said, backing the bill. Alex Greenwich says the bill builds on the legislation he introduced to decriminalise abortion. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS) Meanwhile, upper house MP Chris Rath on Thursday apologised for invoking Nazis while criticising the bill as "authoritarian" on Tuesday night. The comparison was unintended, the senior moderate Liberal said in a statement. "I regret and apologise for the insensitive language that was used." ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Mr Rath told parliament it was "bizarre" to categorise abortion as health care and doing so implied it was something that should, rather than could occur. His contribution to the debate displayed an ignorance of the issues, Mr Greenwich said. "The women of NSW do not need Chris Rath's judgment, particularly on an issue he clearly knows very little about." The state was one of the last in Australia to decriminalise abortion, behind only WA, which made the change in March 2024. Debate was expected to continue in the NSW upper house on Thursday night with a vote in the lower house later in May.
