Labor betrays Victorian children – Again

The Nationals’ Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has expressed deep disappointment at the Allan Labor Government’s decision to block urgent reforms that would have strengthened Victoria’s broken Working With Children Check (WWCC) system.

“We had a chance, a real opportunity, to take meaningful action to protect our kids. Instead, Jacinta Allan and her Labor Government voted against it,” Mr McCurdy said.

The proposed reforms, introduced by The Nationals and the Liberals through the Worker Screening Amendment (Safety of Children) Bill 2025, would have allowed authorities to consider a wider range of risk factors when assessing applicants and made it easier to refuse or revoke Working With Children Checks.

“These changes weren’t political; they were practical, backed by the Ombudsman in 2022, and long overdue. But Labor continues to ignore the warnings, and now with children suffering the consequences of a broken system; they still refuse to act,” Mr McCurdy said.

“Every day of inaction from Jacinta Allan puts more children at risk. How many more families have to suffer before protecting kids, comes before protecting the system?”

Mr McCurdy said families in Ovens Valley and across Victoria deserve better.

“Labor had three years to fix this mess. Again, they could have acted, but, true to form, chose not to. Jacinta Allan had the chance to protect our children, and she walked away from it.”

“Our children’s safety should never be compromised.

The Allan Labor Government was given the chance to close dangerous gaps in the system, yet they failed to deliver when it mattered most,” Mr McCurdy said.”