Wednesday, 13 May 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:53): This evening I rise to make a brief contribution on the early childhood education and care sector in Victoria interim report March 2026. This report of course has been incredibly important, and this inquiry is incredibly important, because it highlights problems in the early childhood sector and outlines the need for the government to not only have greater accountability in this most vulnerable of areas, but to acknowledge that problems continue to exist and problems are not yet solved.

While there have been some changes that have been made, there is more that needs to be done to make sure that children in care are being looked after and that all opportunities to keep children safe are being taken. The government needs to acknowledge that stronger stewardship is required across both the Victorian and national levels to ensure safety, quality and accountability for all children and all families in the sector and for those who are working in it.

The inquiry was established on the emergence of serious child abuse allegations against an educator in July 2025, which of course we are all aware of. It exposed critical, systematic failures that enabled an individual to work across multiple early childhood education services while posing an unacceptable risk. It should never have been possible for a person with alleged paedophilic tendencies to be allowed to be employed not just once, not just twice, but several times across the sector, with many children being abused.

Again I highlight how incredibly devastating it is for these families and for so many people when they have babies aged between six months and two years having to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases because of a childcare worker. In the last 24 hours I have been exposed to a number of really concerning, heartfelt stories by constituents across a number of different areas. One of the things that I want to say is that as a government this government have a strong responsibility to keep children safe, to keep parents safe, to keep mothers safe and to make sure that they are investing their money not just through words but through actions that can actually be translated into protecting people’s lives, protecting their bodies and protecting them in all circumstances. When they go into the childcare sector it is incredibly important that the government takes this responsibility seriously – that it is not just ticking the box and saying, ‘We’ve fixed this,’ but is actually ensuring that we are not opening up the field in any way for any perpetrator to be employed. We need to be continually looking at ways that we can refine this sector and protect people and their children at all times.

I just wanted to highlight this. I am looking forward to not just an interim report but a report that will be ongoing. I think that this needs to be something that remains at the forefront of everybody’s thoughts, because we do have a responsibility to our children and to our families in this community and in the communities that we represent. I thank the government for actually having an inquiry, but I want to encourage the government to continue to work within this sector and continue to realise that this is a very important and very serious situation. We need to be clamping down on it, because our children deserve better.