A top executive at the embattled childcare giant Affinity Education repeatedly told parents whose children attended a centre where alleged paedophile Joshua Brown worked to stop being emotional.
Parents were left distressed by chief operating officer Nishad Alani’s behaviour during a meeting in July to address safety concerns, which they described as dismissive, highly inappropriate and undermining.
Alani, a 53-year-old Brisbane-based executive, was visiting at the request of families who had learnt Brown, now facing 73 charges including child rape, had worked at 12 Affinity-operated centres.
One parent told The Age that the meeting felt more like Affinity trying to protect their reputation. “This is our children’s safety. Do not ask me to take the emotion out of it.”
This masthead revealed Affinity, including the Essendon centre where detectives believe Brown offended, had been put on a government watch list, and that despite tracking its workers with a sophisticated GPS, it provided police with incorrect employment records.
Former and current staff members have also come forward to speak out against a “culture of cover-ups”.