SYKES – WORKING WITH CHILDREN BILL

The Nationals Spokesman for Police and Emergency Services and Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, cast doubts on the use of police checks in the Bracks’ Government’s controversial Working With Children Bill.

Dr Sykes said the Bill, which was introduced into Parliament this week, has been amended considerably (since its draft form) due to pressure from The Nationals and the community. Whilst these changes are a step in the right direction there is still room for improvement.

Dr Sykes said he wanted to make it clear that The Nationals strongly support genuine efforts to protect children from sexual predators but question the effectiveness of this proposed legislation.

“The great tragedy of child sex offences is that most are committed by family members, guardians and close family friends, not strangers at the local sporting club,” Dr Sykes said.

“It might make more sense to allocate greater resources toward detecting these offenders and keeping a closer check on known offenders, rather than subjecting hundred of thousands of volunteers to an invasive police check. It is important we do not put people off volunteering by making the process too difficult.

“The administrative burden this legislation places on sporting and community organisations does not only add to the workload but also the cost of administration. Unfortunately the revised legislation does not address this problem.

“It was only after considerable pressure from the community, voluntary organisations and The Nationals that the Government agreed to fund the checks of volunteers. It is therefore crucially important that we keep up the pressure to ensure the result is practical common sense legislation.

Dr Sykes concluded, “I encourage volunteers, sporting groups and organisations working with children to obtain a copy of the Bill and to provide me with their comments so that I may continue to represent the views of the community when the Bill is debated in Parliament in mid August.

Copies of the Bill can be obtained from www.parliament.vic.gov.au or by phoning my office on 5762 2100.

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989