The Victorian Liberals and Nationals continue to call for the immediate recall of State Parliament as shocking details of a further safety breach at a Victorian childcare centre are revealed.
In 2023, Ron Marks visited a Horsham childcare centre with an active Working With Children Check (WWCC) despite police previously seizing child abuse material in Mr Marks' possession.
On Friday, Mr Marks pled guilty to possession of child abuse material in a Horsham court.
This case further exposes the gross deficiencies in Victoria's WWCC regime - failings which the Victorian Labor Government was warned about in 2022 by the Ombudsman.
Following the release of the Ombudsman report, Shadow Attorney-General Michael O'Brien condemned Labor's failure to act on glaring legislative gaps.
He warned that loopholes in the current system were placing children at risk and pledged to urgently implement reforms to the Worker Screening Act.
Tragically, those warnings have now become a reality.
In February 2024, the Liberals and Nationals urged the Allan Labor Government to add a mandatory online training module to the WWCC process.
These calls form part of the Liberals and Nationals' long-standing commitment to child safety and to ensuring that checks are more than just a tick-box exercise.
Shadow Attorney-General, Michael O'Brien, said, "This is exactly the type of threat to children that would have been prevented if the Labor Government had implemented the Victorian Ombudsman's recommendations when they were made three years ago.
"Victoria's Working With Children checks are the weakest in the nation because Labor has sat on their hands and kept these loopholes open.
"For the sake of our kids, Premier - recall Parliament and change the law to close these loopholes today".
Shadow Minister for Education, Jess Wilson, said, "Under the Allan Labor Government, it appears working with children checks are barely worth the paper they're written on.
"This case exposes the complete failure of Victoria's Working With Children Check system and our child safety regulations.
"It's inconceivable that an individual who police seized child abuse material from was able to maintain a valid Working With Children Check and still visit a childcare centre.
"These flaws pose an unacceptable risk to the safety of our most vulnerable and must be immediately addressed by recalling Parliament."
