Royal Show won’t reveal detail on Working with Children Checks<\/a><\/p>\nPerth Royal Show organisers won’t confirm if Working with Children Checks will be mandatory for exhibitors at this year’s event, following revelations a convicted child sex offender was spotted working there last year.<\/p>\n
Royal Agricultural Society chief executive Robyn Sermon said this year, all exhibitors and volunteers would be required to have Working with Children Checks \u2014 but stopped short of requiring them for all vendors.<\/p>\n
The Royal Agricultural Society later clarified the policy applied to education providers, entertainers, agricultural and competition exhibitors who interact with or are responsible for children.<\/p>\n
Commercial exhibitors only require them if they employ children under 18 or interact with children away from public view.<\/p>\n
Ms Sermon said since the incident, show organisers had increased the number of background checks to more than 1,000, more than double the number from last year, as she sought to assure parents the show was safe.<\/p>\n
“We have 80 monitored cameras, we have an emergency operations centre, we have 55 police on site, 130 security guards and hundreds of trained people,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I can assure the WA public this is a safe place to bring your children.”<\/p>\n
She said it was not “feasible” to implement mandatory Working with Children Checks for all vendors, but the show would take a “risk-based” approach.<\/p>\n
“It depends on what people are doing, if people are sitting under a camera selling \u2026 hats to people in full public view, they’re not necessarily required,” Ms Sermon said.<\/p>\n
“We have over probably 5,000 people involved in pulling the show together, many from small businesses, many from smaller community organisations, many volunteers, as you’re aware, and so we think we’ve got the balance [right].”<\/p>\n
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Organisers say the checks won’t be required for vendors at the show. (ABC News: Natalie Jones)<\/p>\n
Background checks were only a “part of the puzzle”, she said.<\/p>\n
Supervision onus on parents<\/p>\n
“I think we’ve taken a very pragmatic approach,” Ms Sermon said.<\/p>\n
‘I think parents, when they come to the show, are very good at supervising their own children, that’s a very big part of it too, we always encourage parental supervision of kids.”<\/p>\n
Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said she was confident the show had taken the right steps and had gone “above and beyond” the regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got to remember parts of the Royal Show are equivalent to a large shopping mall where you have commercial providers,” Ms Jarvis said.<\/p>\n
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Jackie Jarvis said organisers had gone above and beyond to make the show safe. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n
“Just as parents supervise their children if they’re in a shopping centre, you know, if you’re in a commercial area of the show, parental supervision is expected.”<\/p>\n
The State Government has injected $2.8 million into the Royal Show this year, some $2.2 million of which is earmarked to provide subsidised tickets.<\/p>\n
Tickets for children under 16 years old and concession card holders will be half price, and children under four will be let in for free.<\/p>\n
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