Early childhood education and care
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Last sitting week the upper house passed a Greens motion requiring the Labor government to release key documents relating to regulation, complaints and enforcement in Victorian childcare centres. Under the rules of Parliament those documents were required to be released, with of course any sensitive or identifying information redacted to protect children’s privacy. But the deadline has now passed, and the government has not released any of those documents relating to child care. Parents deserve transparency when it comes to abuse in childcare centres and how the government is handling complaints and enforcement to keep our kids safe. Premier, when will the government release these documents?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Premier cannot stray into the business of the Council, but she can respond as far as government policy goes on the question.
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): Thank you for that guidance, Deputy Speaker. I say to the Leader of the Greens political party: this is not about the Greens political party, it is about the safety of children. I say to the Leader of the Greens political party that I make no apologies for ensuring that compliance with any motion that is passed by the Legislative Council, in the transmission of government documents to that chamber, does not compromise the personal details of children and families. The Greens might want that to be the case; I do not, and I make no apologies for the time it is taking for the government to process the hundreds of thousands of documents. The Greens political party know this; they know the scope of this documents motion is broad. In going through those documents we are not going to compromise personal details. I say this to the Leader of the Greens political party: if she is that committed to strengthening the system of children’s safety, she would be focused on the policy, not the politics.
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:27): My supplementary is to the Premier. Premier, we agree that privacy and child safety must come first, and that is exactly why the motion was carefully worded to ensure that any sensitive information would be redacted. In New South Wales similar documents to what we have requested here in Victoria were produced under the same rules by the deadline, with transparency and privacy both upheld. But the fact is the Victorian government has never once complied with the standing orders requiring documents claimed under executive privilege to be provided to the Clerk and to the motion mover. Why do Victorian parents deserve less transparency than in New South Wales? Will the Premier at least give a deadline as to when these important documents will be released?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Premier on the question on the end.
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:28): I think the member for Melbourne is being perhaps a little disingenuous in her jurisdictional comparison. The volume of documents that has been requested through that motion is enormous. The resources that it is taking to process those documents, and do it in a way that complies with the motion but also protects the private information of families and children, is requiring significant departmental resources – resources, I might add, that are also needed to be focused on the task of protecting children. So again, I make no apologies for the time it is taking to ensure that in compliance with the motion we are placing children’s safety first.