Mr MILLS - 2003-08-20
Yesterday, a teacher was bashed in Alice Springs while supervising students at a bus interchange. This assault occurred after repeated calls to address unruly, antisocial behaviour at the interchange had been made. These calls for help have been ignored. As the minister responsible to this teacher, why have you not acted to prevent this assault? What actions will you initiate to prevent this happening again?
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question, Madam Speaker. It is an important question, because it highlights an issue around this bus interchange in Alice Springs that has to deal with far too many students at a given time in the day, from far too many different schools, and far too big a range of ages. Despite the best efforts of our teachers to monitor and supervise this exchange of students at the interchange, morning and afternoon, it is simply too big for teachers to cope with.
We have had a couple of incidents here. The member refers to an incident yesterday, where an Alice Springs High School staff member suffered an injury to his hand when attempting to intervene between two students who were fighting. That level of misbehaviour has actually resulted, sadly, in injury to the teacher, who was trying to do the right thing. You get to the situation where, of course, Alice Springs High School staff – and why would you blame them? – are getting increasingly reluctant to perform these sorts of duties because it is too big a job. The General Manager Schools has contacted the Alice Springs police, and the advice, this morning, is that four school-based constables will attend the interchange this afternoon. They will stay until we get a permanent resolution to this situation, because it involves the number of students, the range of ages, the difference of where they all come from, and this school-on-school and different groups of students. That is the immediate fix. There will be four school-based constables there at every interchange.
In light of this ongoing disruption, officers from the Department of Employment, Education and Training will be picking it up, as an issue of extreme urgency, with officers from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. What comes to mind is to take a number of interchanges and a couple of bus stops, and break down the numbers and the range of students who are forced to congregate in this one area.
My sympathy and thoughts go to the Alice Springs teacher who was injured in this incident. My office will be endeavouring to get in touch him in the next day or so. We have a sympathy for this situation. The immediate fix with the school-based constables is a sensible and logical thing to do, until such time as we get a permanent arrangement in conjunction with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment.
ANSWER
I thank the member for his question, Madam Speaker. It is an important question, because it highlights an issue around this bus interchange in Alice Springs that has to deal with far too many students at a given time in the day, from far too many different schools, and far too big a range of ages. Despite the best efforts of our teachers to monitor and supervise this exchange of students at the interchange, morning and afternoon, it is simply too big for teachers to cope with.
We have had a couple of incidents here. The member refers to an incident yesterday, where an Alice Springs High School staff member suffered an injury to his hand when attempting to intervene between two students who were fighting. That level of misbehaviour has actually resulted, sadly, in injury to the teacher, who was trying to do the right thing. You get to the situation where, of course, Alice Springs High School staff – and why would you blame them? – are getting increasingly reluctant to perform these sorts of duties because it is too big a job. The General Manager Schools has contacted the Alice Springs police, and the advice, this morning, is that four school-based constables will attend the interchange this afternoon. They will stay until we get a permanent resolution to this situation, because it involves the number of students, the range of ages, the difference of where they all come from, and this school-on-school and different groups of students. That is the immediate fix. There will be four school-based constables there at every interchange.
In light of this ongoing disruption, officers from the Department of Employment, Education and Training will be picking it up, as an issue of extreme urgency, with officers from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment. What comes to mind is to take a number of interchanges and a couple of bus stops, and break down the numbers and the range of students who are forced to congregate in this one area.
My sympathy and thoughts go to the Alice Springs teacher who was injured in this incident. My office will be endeavouring to get in touch him in the next day or so. We have a sympathy for this situation. The immediate fix with the school-based constables is a sensible and logical thing to do, until such time as we get a permanent arrangement in conjunction with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016