Source : Perth Now news
A major review has begun into Queensland’s Blue Card system to identify how monster childcare pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith was able to work in centres undetected for so long.
The State Government on Tuesday revealed the inquiry would look at the failures of the state’s child protection system – examining weaknesses in laws, policies, procedures and practices and cover early childhood education and care, police and the Blue Card system, which allows Queenslanders to work with children.
The review was launched following the conviction of Griffith, dubbed one of Australia’s worst pedophiles, last year on hundreds of child abuse-related offences.
He is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to 190 counts of indecent treatment of children, 67 counts of making child exploitation material, 28 counts of rape, 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, four counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distributing child exploitation material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography material.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli on Tuesday said the inquiry was needed to bring child protection weaknesses into the light and “protect children from the danger lurking in the shadows”.
“When parents drop their children off at childcare or school, they want to know that everything is being done to protect their kids,” he said.
“We must leave no stone unturned in identifying weaknesses across government that are failing keeping children safe and implement the reform that’s urgently needed.”
Luke Twyford, the head of the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC), will lead the review.
“I am committed to working closely with government agencies and community organisations to identify the gaps in the system that enabled this opportunity for harm, analyse the system response, and identify the improvements needed,” Mr Twyford said.
NewsWire / John Gass
Credit: News Corp Australia
“The review will include input from experts and victims of child sexual exploitation to ensure our review is carried out to the highest standards and considers contemporary child safeguarding practices.
“Our findings will be released publicly, and we will release public progress reports throughout the review period to ensure transparency and to provide the public with confidence in the process,” he said.
In a statement, the Queensland government said the terms of reference had been endorsed by the Child Death Review Board, with work to start “immediately”.
Griffith, 46, was handed a term of life imprisonment in November last year following a two-day sentencing where details of his horrific acts were laid bare in court.
Brisbane District Court Judge Paul Smith ordered Griffith serve at least 27 years before being eligible for parole.
By that time, Griffith will be 71.
The court was told Griffith’s offending spanned throughout his career in childcare and occurred at childcare centres in Brisbane from 2003 up until his arrest in 2022.
Some even occurred in Italy.
Police found more than 600 images and more than 1800 videos on Griffith’s electronic devices that had been filmed and categorised in horrifying detail to allow him to easily view the footage at his whim.
Griffith has since launched an appeal against his life sentence – arguing it is “manifestly excessive”.
