Thank you, and I thank the Member for the South Coast for this important question.
This morning, thousands and thousands of families dropped their children off in childcare centres across NSW.
Walking through the gate, leaving your child in the care of another adult, is one of the biggest acts of trust a parent can undertake.
And today, thousands of childcare workers, teachers and educators will take the greatest care, show the greatest kindness, and provide the safest environment for our children right across NSW.
The childcare workforce is made up of dedicated, caring professionals and, of course, we owe them a great debt of gratitude for their professionalism and their focus on their professional life in educating and caring for the next generation of young Australians.
But Mr Speaker, it means the shocking reports of horrific allegations arising from Operation Tenterfield we heard yesterday so much more painful for the community to hear.
And of course, more importantly, the pain is unfathomable for the alleged victims of these horrendous crimes and their families – these alleged crimes.
My Government stands with these victims and their families and offers our full support for what is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Reports like this force us as a community to reflect hard on how these things can happen and how we must make every step to prevent them from happening in the future.
Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker it’s vital that this matter be allowed to proceed through the justice system without interference or prejudice.
But we can’t as Government we sit back and do nothing.
We know our system in NSW is strong.
But I want to reassure the community we are taking steps to look at any gaps in our system, and our regulations, to strengthen child protection in this state.
The Minister for Family and Communities is already in discussions with colleagues in state and national jurisdictions about ensuring safe and transparent data sharing across borders and across agencies.
The Minister will also call for an immediate meeting of federal and state ministers to demand progress urgently on better information sharing between jurisdictions.
I want NSW to lead in this important area of national reform.
The Minister for Education will be reviewing whether oversights could be strengthened and streamlined so that any red flags in any sector are visible to other agencies and other jurisdictions and other states.
And we will apply this to the early childhood sector and of course the school sector as well.
We’ll be talking to colleagues in the Independent and Catholic sectors to ensure there are no way for offenders to jump between the public and non-government sector.
I’d like to on behalf of the house extend my – Thanks Mr Speaker, I’d like to extend the gratitude of members of this house to the Australian Federal Police, the New South Wales Police Force, the Queensland Police Service for the forensic work and the dedication and investigating that, that is involved in these alleged crimes.
It would be an unimaginable job to go through this investigation.
And the fact that their vigilance, their dedication, their caring and their empathy for victims is what drives them to this public service is so important for law enforcement and the protection of children.
And for those that conduct that work in NSW, we owe you a huge debt of – debt of gratitude and we thank you for your service.
While incredibly difficult, the work that these officers have done has no doubt saved countless other children from these horrors.
So, just as we’ll support victims and families, we stand ready to support any member of the New South Wales Police Force who worked on this case.
Indeed, this government recognises and thanks police for the work that they do. They put themselves on the front line every day uncovering unimaginable crimes to keep us safe.
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