Fed: Johnson calls for travel warnings about childcare centres

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2005
Fed: Johnson calls for travel warnings about childcare centres

CANBERRA, April 12 AAP - A travel advisory warning parents about the dangers of sexual
assaults in overseas childcare centres should be posted on Australian websites, child
protection campaigner Hetty Johnson said today.

Her comments follow a report Foreign Minister Alexander Downer refused to act on a
request from Justice Minister Chris Ellison to change travel advisories for Bali hotels
after two Australian children were sexually abused at exclusive island resorts.

Senator Ellison sent the request on behalf of two families whose children were sexually
abused while holidaying on the Indonesian island, The Australian newspaper reported.

In one incident in 2001, a three-year-old girl was sexually abused and contracted gonorrhoea
while at a creche at the Sheraton Nusa Dusa resort while in another, a five-year-old boy
was orally raped at a resort playground, the newspaper said.

The girl's family had sought a change to advisories listing the Bali hotel resorts
whose childcare facilities did not meet Australian standards.

Senator Ellison wrote to the mother of the boy, telling her he had written to Mr Downer
about the travel advisory.

However, Mr Downer advised Senator Ellison there were too many hotels to list in such
an advisory, according to correspondence obtained by the ABC's Lateline program.

Ms Johnson, the co-founder of child abuse support group Bravehearts, spoke to the parents
involved and said most parents expected the same security checks and standards at childcare
centres at five-star foreign resorts as they would get in Australia.

"I think that's what parents naturally expect, particularly when they know the names
of these large facilities and we all know the names, we trust the names, they're five
star so we expect nothing but the best," she told the Nine Network.

"And we have to understand that these facilities are not in Australia, the same standards
of care are not there and we just need to be really, really careful."

Ms Johnson said the government should have been warning parents of the dangers since
it became aware of the abuse of the two children.

"Clearly there's a genuine and reasonable concern for children out at these creches
and the government should be warning travellers," she said.

"There has to be a warning on the (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) website
about any childcare facilities anywhere in the world outside of Australia."

AAP sm/lma/cdh

KEYWORD: RESORTS JOHNSON

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