Interview - ABC News Breakfast

EMMA REBELLATO: More than 180,000 early educators have completed new mandatory child safety training. This is part of the Government's efforts to strengthen safety in the child care sector. For more on this, the Education Minister, Jason Clare, joins us now from Canberra. Minister, thanks for joining us. 

JASON CLARE: No worries at all, good morning. 

REBELLATO: What difference will this new training make? How will this make our kids safer? 

CLARE: Well, I think the best asset that we've got in our child care centres to keep our kids safe are the incredible workforce that we have. You know, they love our kids, they care for our kids, they educate our kids. 

They were, you know, they were just as sickened and horrified as the rest of the country with the allegations that were revealed last year. They want to make sure that they've got the skills they need to spot somebody who might be up to no good, somebody who's hiding in plain sight, and that's what this training is all about. 

I think it's one of the greatest tools we've got to make sure that we keep our kids safe, and the fact that two‑thirds of the workforce have done the mandatory training in just two months, that's a good sign. 

REBELLATO: But how's it different to what they've had, these workers have had before? What sort of different areas is it looking into? 

CLARE: It's a step up. There's safety training that's part of the course that you do at TAFE or university, but this is an extra level of training that's been put together by the Centre for Child Protection about getting the right safety culture in centres, but also being able to spot a perpetrator who might be hiding in plain sight, who might be grooming you, or grooming children that are in your centre. That's why I say it's important. 

It's not the only thing that we need to do. We're also banning and have banned the use of personal mobile phones in centres. It's morning TV, Emma, so I'm not going to go into details about why that's important, but I think most mums and dads will know why. 

The other thing that we're doing is trialling the use of CCTV cameras in centres, and we've seen just recently how important they can be in catching people who are committing crimes in centres. 

And the other thing I'd mention is the laws that we've passed to cut off funding to centres that aren't meeting the safety standards. That's working as well so get centres who for seven years or more haven't met the safety standards, and now with the threat of their funding being cut off are suddenly fixing the problems in their centres. 

REBELLATO: A couple of months ago in February, we learned that nine childcare centres across the country were at risk of having their funding cut off because they hadn't lifted their standards. What's the situation now? 

CLARE: Yeah, I'll have more to say about that in the next few weeks. We've found that more than half of the centres we've imposed conditions on have suddenly lifted their standards and fixed the problems. When the regulator's gone back in, suddenly that's been fixed. 

There are a number of centres where that hasn't occurred, and we've sent notices to those centres indicating our intention to cut funding off from them. They have now responded to us. That legal process is now underway, and I'll have more to say about that in the next few weeks. 

REBELLATO: Minister, I want to move on to fuel, if I can now. The Coalition's releasing an $800 million dollar policy proposal for Australia to have 60 days' supply of fuel in reserve at all times, and at least a billion litres of extra onshore storage. Do you think it's a good idea? Should the Government match it? 

CLARE: I think what Australians want us to do is take every practical step that we can right now to make sure that we've got the fuel that we need, and that's what we're doing. 

There's now 44 days of fuel in reserve, that's a lot more than there was when the war started. There's about 58 ships on their way to Australia. The Prime Minister is doing what you'd expect Prime Ministers to do, and that is talking directly to the Prime Ministers of Singapore, the leaders of Malaysia and Brunei, the Foreign Minister is meeting with her counterparts as well to make sure that we secure the fuel that we need, and in addition to that, because we're very, very conscious of the cost‑of‑living impacts for all Australians who rely on fuel, we've cut the fuel rebate ‑ the fuel excise as well to make sure that we can reduce that pressure at petrol stations. 

But we're always focused on what we can do to make sure that the system is more resilient, and you'll see more of that in the budget. 

REBELLATO: So will we be seeing more days of supply locked in in the Federal Budget? 

CLARE: Well, there is already - as I said, instead of 30 days there's now 44 days of reserve ‑‑ 

REBELLATO: Yes, but should there be a mandated time, a mandated level of supply that Australia should have so we don't end up in this position again? 

CLARE: Emma, I'm not going to pre‑empt what the Prime Minister or the Treasurer will say about that in the budget, that's only two weeks away.  

I do have to say though that, you know, it is a bit ironic that you've got Angus Taylor now talking about this after he was the bloke as Energy Minister who oversaw four oil refineries being shut down. You know, this is like putting the burglar in charge of security, the bloke that did all the damage is now saying, "trust me to fix it". 

I don't think Australians, when they see Angus Taylor saying that he's got the fix, will trust him to fix it. 

REBELLATO: Minister, let's talk about the Farrer by‑election because ‑ of course the seat left vacant by Sussan Ley. Early voting centres are opening today. Do you think the major parties are getting any cut‑through or realistically, do you think it's going to be One Nation or an Independent who comes out on top?

CLARE: Well, let's wait and see. I'm not going to pre‑empt the decision of the people of Farrer. They'll vote in two weeks' time. There's a lot of pressure on Angus Taylor. This is a safe Liberal seat, and if they fail to win that seat, then I think a lot of people in the Liberal Party will think what was the point in changing Sussan Ley for Angus Taylor. 

REBELLATO: Education Minister, Jason Clare, thank you. 

CLARE: Thank you.