Latest news with #statesandterritories
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Major changes announced after alleged childcare predators charged
Australia's states and territories have unianimously committed to a national register of working with children's checks by the end of the year after a spate of arrests of alleged child predators sparked national outrage. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland made the announcement after meeting with Attorneys-General from across the country on Friday for the first meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General of the new parliament. 'Attorney-Generals-today agreed to toughening the system, to ensure that if you're banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you're banned in all of them,' she said. Under the changes, criminal histories will be updated and shared in real time between jurisdictions, and the criteria that determines who is able to obtain a working with children check will be strengthened. 'It is notable that nefarious individuals have been shopping around the working with children check system and exploiting loopholes,' Ms Rowland said. In May, Victoria Police charged Joshua Dale Brown, 26, with more than 70 offences, including child rape and possession of child abuse material. He was a worker at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook and had a working with children check. He is yet to enter pleas to the charges. The alleged abuse sparked significant national outrage, prompting Attorney-General Michelle Rowland to declare a national system was the 'first item on the agenda' when she meets with state and territory counterparts. The Albanese government has promised a 'banned in one, banned in all' system, in which a person banned from holding a WWCC in one state cannot obtain one in another. In July, after a court order was rescinded, it was revealed a 26-year-old Sydney man had been charged in late 2024 with allegedly using his position as an after-school care worker to produce child abuse material with 10 children aged six and under. Australian Federal Police officers allege David William James produced child abuse material of 10 victims, the oldest being six years old. It is further alleged Mr James' offending was linked to his employment with six different out-of-school hours (OOSH) care services in North Sydney and the CBD between April 2021 and May 2024. Despite earlier concerns a national system would take up to 12 months to implement, Ms Rowland said the national system would be operational by the end of the year. State governments have grappled with the fallout from multiple high-profile instances of alleged abuse at childcare centres. The Victorian government has said it will require childcare centres to ban personal mobile devices from September 26, and launched an urgent review. NSW Premier Chris Minns on Friday said his government would comply with and make available funds for a national database once it was implemented. ' I think that it's common sense to say that if someone's been struck off in Western Australia, then that's a leading indicator that they shouldn't be able to have a working with children's check in NSW,' Mr Minns said.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Unsatisfactory': Fury amid revelations working with children check reforms could take up to a year
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has revealed it could take up to 12 months to ensure convicted criminals applying for working with children checks (WWCC) cannot evade notice by applying interstate. Ms Rowland said reform was possible 'within certainly the next 12 months' so long as she secured support from state and territory counterparts at a meeting of the country's attorneys-general today. 'We envisage that the most immediate and urgent outcome is to achieve that 'banned in one, banned in all' aspect in the near term,' Ms Rowland told ABC Radio National on Friday morning. 'In the longer term, there needs to be a bar raised right across the states and territories to strengthen those criteria for working with children risk and exclusions. 'In terms of timing, these are matters that will be discussed today, so I don't want to pre-empt those outcomes … (but) in terms of the most immediate one to achieve — 'banned in one, banned in all' — I would like to think that this is something that is certainly capable of being done within certainly the next 12 months, if we can have a better sense of that following today's meeting, then that will be a good thing.' The Albanese government has proposed banning nationally anyone barred from working with children in one jurisdiction. Opposition leader Sussan Ley said a 12 month wait for reform of the WWCC system was unacceptable and 'completely unsatisfactory'. She claimed the government's response to reports of alleged child abuse lacked urgency, despite Anthony Albanese calling them a 'wake up call' for governments nationwide. 'The PM has talked a big game on fixing these issues but twelve months to deliver this isn't good enough,' Ms Ley said. 'We've done our bit in the federal parliament to work with the government to pass new laws but it is now up to the Prime Minister to lead and finish the job. 'The States and territories need to get their act together and accelerate this critically important piece of work to protect our kids.' Ms Ley said there needed to be 'stronger leadership' on the issue, and that the states and territories must be forced to act faster. 'Given the crisis we are seeing in our childcare centres, twelve months for the first set of changes is completely unsatisfactory,' she said. Multiple states and territories are grappling with the fallout from multiple high-profile cases of alleged abuse at childcare centres, namely in NSW and Victoria. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan last month announced measures for all childcare centres in the state to be required to ban personal mobile devices from September 26, and launched an 'urgent review into child safety' the findings of which are due on Friday. Further north, a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the childcare sector in NSW was told by a senior cop managing the child abuse squad that offenders 'shop around' for centres to offend at and urged for a database to be establish for police to be able to access.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Road tax floated for EV users ahead of economic summit
Electric car drivers could be hit with a road tax, with one federal frontbencher saying it's a "sensible" move as more people switch to EVs. Ahead of the federal government's productivity roundtable next week, the idea of a road tax has been floated as an idea to ensure money is set aside for road upkeep. The possibility was flagged by Treasurer Jim Chalmers during a speech in June, saying he was working with the states and territories "on the future of road-user charging" for EVs. Dr Chalmers is meeting with transport industry leaders on Monday, ahead of next week's roundtable. While the federal government has maintained the issue was for states and territories, frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said the idea of a tax for EV users made sense. "I don't think anything's happening tomorrow, but I do think it's sensible ... for the states and territories, to look long term at what they do, to make sure that there's enough money to build the roads that people want to drive on," she told Seven's Sunrise program. "It's no secret that as the number of petrol vehicles and diesel vehicles goes down, the tax from fuel excise decreases (and) that means less money for building and maintaining roads. "The states and territories have been looking at this for some time." Money collected as part of the fuel excise is allocated for fixing roads, but concerns have been raised there will be less set aside in coming years as the number of EVs on the roads increases. Victoria tried to put in place a two cent per kilometre charge on EV users in 2023, but the proposal was overruled by the High Court. New Zealand has a scheme in place for road-user charges for EVs, with petrol cars soon to be added to the tax. Coalition senator Jane Hume said more needed to be done to fix ailing roads, which a broader road tax could achieve. "The fuel excise has been a shrinking tax base, and it's one of the few taxes that's hypothecated for road maintenance," she told Sky News. "The rise of EVs is something that has happened exponentially in the last few years. "We want to make sure that those EV users are making sure that they're responsible for road maintenance in the same way that petrol and diesel car users are."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
New tax coming for a group of Australian drivers: Albo's senior ministers push for revolutionary change to the nation's roads
Electric car drivers could be hit with a road tax, with one federal frontbencher saying it's a 'sensible' move as more people switch to EVs. The idea of a road tax has been floated as an idea to ensure money is set aside for road upkeep, ahead of the federal government's productivity roundtable next week, The possibility was flagged by Treasurer Jim Chalmers during a speech in June, where he said he was working with the states and territories 'on the future of road-user charging' for EVs. Chalmers is meeting with transport industry leaders on Monday, ahead of next week's roundtable. Frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said on Monday that the idea of a tax for EV users made sense. 'I don't think anything's happening tomorrow, but I do think it's sensible ... for the states and territories, to look long term at what they do, to make sure that there's enough money to build the roads that people want to drive on,' she told Seven's Sunrise program. 'It's no secret that as the number of petrol vehicles and diesel vehicles goes down, the tax from fuel excise decreases (and) that means less money for building and maintaining roads. 'The states and territories have been looking at this for some time.'' Money collected as part of the fuel excise is allocated for fixing roads, but concerns have been raised there will be less set aside in coming years as the number of EVs on the roads increases. Victoria tried to put in place a two cent per kilometre charge on EV users in 2023, but the proposal was overruled by the High Court, which found the plan unconstitutional. New Zealand has a scheme in place for road-user charges for EVs, with petrol cars soon to be added to the tax. Coalition senator Jane Hume said more needed to be done to fix ailing roads, which a broader road tax could achieve. 'The fuel excise has been a shrinking tax base, and it's one of the few taxes that's hypothecated for road maintenance,' she told Sky News. 'The rise of EVs is something that has happened exponentially in the last few years. 'We want to make sure that those EV users are making sure that they're responsible for road maintenance in the same way that petrol and diesel car users are.'
