He said new legislation would be introduced in the next parliamentary sitting fortnight, starting on July 22, to cut funding to centres that don’t meet quality and safety standards.

“This is the big weapon that the Commonwealth government has to wield here,” he told 7.30 tonight.

“We fund centres; 70 per cent of the funding for these centers comes from taxpayers.

” … that is the big lever that the Commonwealth government has. 

“States have other levers, but that’s the big one. A centre can’t run without taxpayer funding or taxpayer support.”

The measures were announced in March this year.

“The bottom line is that ministers haven’t been doing enough fast enough, right?” he said, prompting host Sarah Ferguson to ask if he included himself in that category.

“Including me, and I take my fair share of responsibility for it. I’ve been pretty blunt about that, but I tell you what, I’ve got the job now, and I’m determined to act.”

Brown has been charged with 70 offences and the case remains before the courts.

Police said he worked at 20 childcare centres over a number of years, though the charges relate to eight alleged victims at a single centre.