[Greens-Media] School truancy measures are punitive, not progressive: Greens

[Norton, Tim (Sen R. Siewert)]

School truancy measures are punitive, not progressive: Greens
Monday 25th August 2008
 
The Australian Greens today condemned the Federal Government's plan to
suspend the welfare payments of families of children who fail to attend
school.

"Where is the evidence base that this punitive approach will actually
work?" asked Senator Rachel Siewert today. 

"What evidence is there that it is only the kids of welfare recipients
who are not attending school?"

"What happens to these families when their payments are suspended?"

The Greens are highly critical of this approach and point to the failure
of the Halls Creek trial, in which linking welfare payments to school
attendance did not improve school attendance.

"The Government continue to talk about their 'education revolution', but
there is nothing revolutionary in this knee-jerk punitive approach," she
said.

"Income management is a very blunt and ineffective tool to address the
complex problem of children who are being failed by our education system
and do not want to be at school," said Senator Siewert.

"If the Government are truly concerned about overall truancy levels, why
is it only poor and disadvantaged families on income support who are
being targeted - when we know that troubled kids from all walks of life
will cut school?"

"The Rudd Government needs to be looking at the social, economic and
educational problems that contribute to truancy problems, rather than
rely on penalizing measures such as welfare quarantining and
suspension."

"The real factors behind poor school attendance are the failures of the
education system in some regions to deliver appropriate early childhood
and primary education, and provide educational and social support
services for disadvantaged families," said Senator Siewert.

"Rather than attempting to punish struggling, low-income families, the
Government should be focusing on the underlying causes of increased
truancy and delivering a real education revolution so that kids want to
be at school," concluded Senator Siewert.
 
For more information call Chris Twomey on 0407 725 025
Email senator.siewert at aph.gov.au  |  http://www.rachelsiewert.org.au