Nothing is more important to me than protecting our children.
The recent allegations of shocking abuse in childcare centres have exposed a system that simply isn't working.
This sickens me not just as a Premier, but as a mum.
Parents must be able to drop their children off at childcare, knowing they will be encouraged to play and learn -
Trusting they will be safe.
That trust has been horribly broken.
And to every family who has been hurt by these horrifying allegations, I am truly sorry.
You put your trust in a system, and that system let you down.
As a mum, I cannot begin to imagine that pain.
But as Premier, I can do everything in my power to act.
When these sickening allegations came to light, we immediately commissioned a rapid review to look at childcare safety.
And now we act urgently to implement every single recommendation as quickly as possible.
These changes will reform child safety practices in Victoria.
They will affect both hiring practices, and who is trusted to work in childcare, as well as the practical ways childcare centres embed safety, every day.
We are already banning personal devices in childcare rooms to protect children, and work to establish a statewide register of childcare workers is underway.
We will do everything we can to make sure safety comes first and today I am announcing a child safety overhaul.
Victoria will create a new regulator with real teeth, setting out the strictest safety rules.
We will more than double the number of on-the-spot inspections at childcare centres, making sure these principles are being practiced on the ground.
Working with Children Checks will be overhauled - with new powers to help weed out predators.
Legislation will be introduced into Parliament next week to immediately suspend Working with Children Checks when an individual is under police investigation.
And will speed up mandatory training for staff to make sure every safety concern is heard and addressed.
But as the Rapid Child Safety Review has found:
The actions of Victoria alone will not fix the quality and safety issues in early childhood education and care.
We will keep working with the Federal Government to deliver the national reforms families expect and deserve.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank the thousands of dedicated educators and early childhood workers across our state.
I know this has been an incredibly difficult time for you all.
And I want you to know how much your work matters to so many families.
I have seen firsthand with my own children the close bonds that kids develop with their favourite educators.
I remember how those same educators shared in our delight as they watched our children learn and grow.
And I see this every time I visit a kinder or childcare centre across our state.
So I want to say thank you, for everything that you do.
Every child deserves to be safe - and every parent must be able to trust that the system will keep them safe.
