Wednesday December 4, 2002

AEU Federal Secretary Rob Durbridge says teachers, parents and citizens of Port Augusta and Whyalla have raised a series of significant concerns and produced constructive suggestions to tackle them.

“After hearing concerns about lack of information and coordination from the various levels of government, the AEU has pledged to directly assist local communities. We will fund them to meet with senior state and federal officials, including the state and federal education ministers, the federal immigration minister, and if possible the federal Liberal and Labor leaders to put their concerns and proposed solutions first hand” Mr Durbridge says.

“They want to see consultation and planning on how the transition from detention can best be managed, and the provision of necessary resources like counselling and language programs.”

“Having consulted with community and education representatives in Port Augusta and Whyalla, it is evident that politicking by state and federal governments has prevented an agreement on the enrolment of refugee children.”

“We welcome yesterday's policy shift by the government to allow mothers and children to live in the community. However, we condemn the time that has passed and the damage that has been done to the children in the interim which is on the hands of the government”.

“The AEU says it's time to stop playing politics with innocent children's futures. We restate our welcome on behalf of the nation's public school teachers to refugee children and their parents into the nation's public schools. We call on the governments to put humanity first and allow these people to live peacefully in communities that support them, and to allow their claims to be processed without the duress of detention.”

“As a union we've assisted with agreements being reached to allow children to attend schools from within detention centres in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Given recent policy shifts, the numbers of children who will be released from detention makes it imperative that agreement is reached on resources for schools to be able to integrate the children into our public schools.”

“Furthermore, we firmly believe that the federal government is bound by international covenants, including that of the rights of the child, to ensure all children have access to the best possible education, and that the federal government carries the financial responsibility to ensure this obligation is met“ Mr Durbridge says.

“The AEU is also concerned by proposals to split family units, with mothers and children living separate from fathers. This is clearly harmful to the development of children and we call on the government to take the path of New Zealand and many European countries which allow the families to be united in appropriate accommodation while their claims are determined.”

Contact Rob Durbridge 0407 560 368 or 0416 199 509