Proposed vetting bill - We need to get it right

Significant shortcomings in the proposed new law on the vetting of people working with children have been identified by children’s charities.

Under the draft bill that will establish a statutory National Vetting Bureau, groups of people who spend a substantial amount of time in direct contact or close proximity to children will legally be able to avoid having their credentials and character checked.

They include school caretakers, cooks and bus drivers — the very people children tend to know and trust as a familiar part of their everyday environment.

They also include casual volunteers and occasional helpers — the mothers, fathers, and retirees who are inspired to give up their time by a love of children and a willingness to do good, but who just might include an individual driven by more sinister motivations.

The vetting system as it exists has evolved through a learning process, with practical difficulties and policy changes along the way, into a set of reasonably good protections.

Putting it on the statute books provides a chance to make it more robust. That opportunity should not be squandered. The charities’ concerns must be heeded.