Shadow Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Steve Edgington, says today’s revelations of increasing violence and crippling staff shortages at Tennant Creek High School is indicative of government failures, across the board.
“It’s absolutely extraordinary that teachers in Tennant Creek feel they have no other option, but to pen a unanimous letter to the Education Minister because they don’t feel safe at work and say they can’t provide a safe learning environment.
“Teacher safety concerns, and Labor’s four year pay freeze, are having a devastating impact on the ability for government to attract and retain staff. This week in Estimates, it was revealed the NT has 50 less teachers compared with the previous year.
“Data from Territory Families is a strong indicator that issues in the community are making their way into the classroom. In 2021, there were 647 notifications of children aged 0 to 17 which had domestic and family violence recorded as a contributing factor. That’s almost 30% of all notifications made to the department. In the same year, there were 1,199 notifications, in the Barkly, of child abuse and neglect. That is damning.
“The latest crime statistics show, in the 12 months to the end of April 2022, there were 916 assaults, domestic-violence related assaults, alcohol related-assaults and sexual assaults. With an estimated population of only 3,500, that means more than 25% of the Tennant Creek community has been a victim of violent crime in the past year.
“In 2018, Labor promised $450,000 to develop an integrated and specialist domestic, family and sexual violence hub model for Tennant Creek – this still hasn’t been delivered. This is in addition to dozens of broken and undelivered promises.
“Labor seems to have completely forgotten about the Barkly. It’s time to conduct a full review of government investment and ensure Territory taxpayer dollars are going to where it’s needed most. “I applaud our hard-working teachers, and it’s time for the Fyles Labor Government to stop simply talking about what they’re going to do and start focusing their efforts towards early intervention to support families and improve the lives of our children and young people,” said Mr Edgington.
ENDS