ABC investigation reveals deaths and abuse in Victoria childcare centres

ABC NEWS (Australia)

An ABC investigation has revealed new details of disturbing incidents in Victorian childcare centres, including the death of a baby girl. The revelations include children being punched and kicked and have sparked calls for more transparency in the system and a greater focus on the welfare of children.

Transcript

00:00Baby Naneetje would be nearly four today. She was just 15 weeks old when she died in

00:10early 2022 at an illegal childcare centre in Robbenvale. The coroner found Naneetje

00:16was put to bed in an unsafe way by Eri Milata but couldn't determine what killed her, leaving

00:22mum and dad with a long list of unanswered questions.

00:25We don't know what Ali was doing at that time. Maybe she looked after another baby or many

00:34babies. We don't know that.

00:37Last year Eri Milata pleaded guilty to two counts of running a centre without authorisation.

00:42She didn't want to talk to the ABC. The Education Department's official summary of the case

00:47doesn't mention the death of baby Naneetje, only that there was an $18,000 fine.

00:54This death, this horrific incident could just be the tip of the iceberg but we don't actually

01:00know because the state Labor government isn't providing the information and in fact makes

01:05it extraordinarily difficult to get information about the scale of the crisis in the broken

01:09childcare system.

01:10Details of the Naneetje's case are laid out in enforcement documents, which the ABC could

01:15only obtain using freedom of information laws. Other cases include a child left crying after

01:22being slapped at an Aspire Centre in Pakenham, an educator kicking a child at Wyndham Vale

01:27Montessori Centre, workers without current working with children checks at Playhouse Family Daycare

01:33in Preston and children tethered to furniture at another illegal childcare centre in Kings Park.

01:39The Education Department doesn't release details like these when it tells Victorians about breaches

01:45of childcare laws. The Allen government has promised to release more information but won't say

01:50if it will include deaths and assaults.

01:52There's a lot more work to be done. These are just the very first steps in building a child

01:59safeguarding system that the public can have greater confidence in.

02:03Naneetje's mum and dad say no other parents should feel their pain.

02:07We're already so sad about that story. So we don't want another people to have that story

02:14happening, coming again.

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