Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has fought back tears speaking of her own “panicked” response to the alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at a daycare centre in Melbourne.
Childcare worker Joshua Brown, 26, was arrested over charges related to eight victims who attended a Point Cook childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023.
Ms O’Neil, whose young children attend childcare centres in Victoria, said she was left “panicked” herself as she scanned list of childcare centres involved in the incidents.
“I was so panicked yesterday, looking on that list to see if any of my kids have been affected in any of these centres.
“(I know) thousands of parents around Victoria having to go through these discussions with their children, that we would never want a parent to have to talk to a child about, so I just say from a human perspective, this is absolutely awful.”