Health department ‘regrets’ family affected by accused Melbourne childcare paedophile having to test children for STIs twice

Acknowledgement of ‘extreme distress’ amid fallout from Joshua Dale Brown charges comes as premier defends childcare safety review appointment

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The Victorian health department has acknowledged the distress of a family forced to have their children tested twice for sexually transmitted infections after they attended a childcare centre where alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown had worked.

It comes as the state’s premier, Jacinta Allan, defends the appointment of Jay Weatherill to lead an urgent review into childcare safety in Victoria, accusing the opposition of “playing politics”.

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