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Speaker 1: Oh Lachlan Catholic College in Darwin. It was sent into

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Speaker 1: a lockdown yesterday morning, and we're going to be getting

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Speaker 1: Paul on the line right now, but it was sent

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Speaker 1: into a lockdown yesterday morning after a youth entered the

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Speaker 1: school grounds. Now, the thirteen year old, who does not

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Speaker 1: attend the school, allegedly punched four students, sparking the lockdown.

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Speaker 1: Police attended and the lockdown was lifted a short time later,

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Speaker 1: with investigations ongoing. Now, I am not sure whether we've

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Speaker 1: got a situation where that child has now been taken

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Speaker 1: into custody or exactly what's gone on. But a caller

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Speaker 1: is also saying that Holy Family Primary went into lockdown

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Speaker 1: when o'lachlan College did yesterday due to the same incident.

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Speaker 1: So preschool transition kids right up to year year six

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Speaker 1: also freaking out, says that text. So it's a terrible

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Speaker 1: situation and a terrible situation that you know that those

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Speaker 1: kids are then in and incredibly frightening, and you know,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't matter the age of the of the kid

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Speaker 1: that's ended up on the school grounds when you have

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Speaker 1: that threatening, intimidating kind of behavior going on and kids

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Speaker 1: there allegedly being assaulted. It's just horrender us and something

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Speaker 1: that they should not have to worry about when they

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Speaker 1: go to school. It's certainly something that you don't expect

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Speaker 1: you're going to need to worry about when your children

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Speaker 1: are at school, that is for sure. So yeah, it's

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Speaker 1: it's frightening. And joining us on the line right now

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Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit more about what exactly

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Speaker 1: did go on. It is Catholic Education NT Director Paul Grieves.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Paul.

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Speaker 2: Oh, good morning, Katie. Thank you the opportune to come

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Speaker 2: and talk.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks so much for joining us, Paul, what exactly

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Speaker 1: unfolded yesterday?

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Speaker 2: Look the details that we know it and look and

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Speaker 2: almost obviously we've had police their supporting. We're very grateful

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Speaker 2: for that. But I'm just to cast a broad sort

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Speaker 2: of view of what occurred. It was something that was

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Speaker 2: very unusual and something that you know, your words there

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Speaker 2: were right. You know, we certainly wouldn't expect any kid

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Speaker 2: to go to school and have to put up with

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Speaker 2: the prospect of being assaulted by someone from outside the school.

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Speaker 2: Now we believe a person has literally jumped the sense

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Speaker 2: of the school, has gone into the school grounds and

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Speaker 2: quite randomly, and it's a person not known to the

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Speaker 2: school at all, So it is when you say random

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Speaker 2: that it sort of fits that category really well, you know,

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Speaker 2: and has gone up to some students and assaulted them.

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Speaker 2: And any assaults are really you know, for a kid especially,

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Speaker 2: it is a really time to deal with because you're

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Speaker 2: not expecting it. It's not something you provoked, it's not

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Speaker 2: something that was aware of your part of the day.

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Speaker 2: So it's just highly concerned and I really feel for

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Speaker 2: those kids, those families that have had to get those

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Speaker 2: calls to say that this has occurred. And I certainly

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Speaker 2: totally recognized that it was unprovoked, it was someone unknown

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Speaker 2: to the school. Now the way the school responded immediately, Look,

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Speaker 2: I'm just so grateful that we do do our training

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Speaker 2: and all of our schools around lockdowns and what to

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Speaker 2: do in all sorts of situations, and that was all

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Speaker 2: swung into gear. Police were contacted, ambulance were contacted, Police

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Speaker 2: got their good time and were certainly offering advice and

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Speaker 2: support to the school. And the school was in lockdown

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Speaker 2: for about just over an hour and it probably didn't

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Speaker 2: need to be for that long, but out of caution.

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Speaker 2: We did go just to make sure that everything was clear,

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Speaker 2: and we got those reassurances from police that it was okay.

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Speaker 2: So I had the kids back in the yard and

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Speaker 2: things to resume. Are those kids of normal as normal

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Speaker 2: as it can be in that circumstance.

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Speaker 1: Are those kids okay? Those so it was four kids

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Speaker 1: that were assaulted.

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Speaker 2: It was now obviously any kids being hit, we're going

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Speaker 2: to call ambulance of medical attention paramedics because that's just

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Speaker 2: what we do. Duty of care to the kids is paramount. Now,

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Speaker 2: none of the kids required transport to hospital law by

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Speaker 2: ambulance for any medical attention. One of the students was

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Speaker 2: taken I'm informed by their parents to seek assessment around

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Speaker 2: a lock to the head. That didn't require ambulance transport

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Speaker 2: for that to happen, And you know, that's I think

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Speaker 2: that's We're glad the kids weren't more seriously injured, but

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Speaker 2: the fact they approached and injured at all is just

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Speaker 2: that's the concern.

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Speaker 1: It's appalling, you know, it is appalling that that the school,

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Speaker 1: you guys, it's a wonderful school, and to have to

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Speaker 1: deal with a child that does not go to the

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Speaker 1: school that has nothing to do with the school rocking up,

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Speaker 1: jumping as events. Assaulting those children is appalling. Now we've

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Speaker 1: had a parent call in and say that their child

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Speaker 1: goes to our Lachlan and they said that this thirteen

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Speaker 1: year old had made threats that he was going to

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Speaker 1: come back with a machete and that the kids are

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Speaker 1: all pretty scared that it's going to happen again.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, I totally understand the fear that would be

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Speaker 2: there because it's happened randomly once and you kind of

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Speaker 2: wonder if that's going to be the case again. Look,

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Speaker 2: we certainly in terms of presence and supervision that the

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Speaker 2: school is doing that as much as is physically possible,

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Speaker 2: and the way they're managing the situations try and reassure

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Speaker 2: the kids, to look after them and to deal with

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Speaker 2: those feelings of anxiety and nervousness around that. That's all

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Speaker 2: part of our response to it, and we've had support

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Speaker 2: from the Catholic Education Office here at the school to

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Speaker 2: help them with that because it's a big job. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I think the teachers on the ground themselves, so the

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Speaker 2: best resource we've gotten. The way they responded yesterday is

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Speaker 2: to their credit, they really did calm things down, keep

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Speaker 2: the order of things, keep the students reassured. Now, We're

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Speaker 2: going to continue to do that in the future. But

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Speaker 2: the sense that there is an increase of vigilance and

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Speaker 2: presence and supervision on the school site is the way

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Speaker 2: that I'd be phrasing that right now. I believe there

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Speaker 2: were some threats made. We really don't know. We're education experts,

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Speaker 2: we're not security experts, and how to deal with things

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Speaker 2: like that. Listen, you know, I'd hate to think that

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Speaker 2: schools have to become almost prison like in the way

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Speaker 2: we conduct our business and things.

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Speaker 1: I agree. I agree, you shouldn't have to want no

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Speaker 1: absolutely education, Yeah no, you're there to educate the kids.

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Speaker 1: Have you had to put security on or anything like that?

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Speaker 2: Paul, Look, you know, we just I'll use the term

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Speaker 2: presence and supervision right now because that's what we're We

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Speaker 2: certainly are doing to keep the site as secure as possible.

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Speaker 2: We did have some security at the school yesterday, being

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Speaker 2: cognizant of those things that were said. Nothing eventuated at

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Speaker 2: all yesterday with what we know the threats that were made,

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Speaker 2: but certainly to affirm the school for their response and

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Speaker 2: also to thank the police for the advice that they

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Speaker 2: gave and the presence there in the sense that they

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Speaker 2: did respond very quickly what we believed appropriately to a

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Speaker 2: situation that was a hugely concerning one for school, and

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Speaker 2: the parents and the principal got information out to families

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Speaker 2: in writing as soon as we practically could yesterday to

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Speaker 2: reassure them here's what happened, here's how we've responded, here's

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Speaker 2: what's happening there. And look, I really for those kids

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Speaker 2: that were caught up in it yesterday that it is

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Speaker 2: something that they can through court and I know through

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Speaker 2: families in school to help them feel again school, Paul.

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Speaker 1: Can I just ask what ages were the four children

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Speaker 1: that were that were assaulted.

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Speaker 2: I haven't got the information for you, Katie. That's all right,

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Speaker 2: that's not something I've got at the hand.

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Speaker 1: That's okay.

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Speaker 2: I believe that. I believe that from the younger year groups,

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Speaker 2: right than the older ones.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so more primary school seven time, okay, yeah, more

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Speaker 1: than middle school I.

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Speaker 2: Think year eight nine, I think.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Again, I'm not I haven't got the information to hand,

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Speaker 2: but I did. I had the impression it wasn't the

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Speaker 2: older kids.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Paul, Can I ask I mean, we've had parents

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Speaker 1: saying that the child that was that jumped the fence

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Speaker 1: and that did this offending had an ankle monitoring bracelet on.

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Speaker 1: Do you know if that was the case.

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Speaker 2: I haven't got the information.

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Speaker 1: We'll try and follow that up. We'll certainly try and

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Speaker 1: follow that up.

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Speaker 2: And looking if it's a minor and what's happening there

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Speaker 2: is probably that's not for me to comment. It's really

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Speaker 2: something that that's a police matter, and you know that's

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Speaker 2: what it is. I'm happy for them to be dealing

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Speaker 2: with it. I said, that's not our world offer.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's fine. No, No, that's fine, Paul. Look to

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Speaker 1: any of you know, to any of the parents that

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Speaker 1: are listening this morning of children at that school, I mean,

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Speaker 1: what would you say to them in terms of the

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Speaker 1: ongoing safety of the kids. I know the school's got

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Speaker 1: an impeccable reputation, you know, Lachlan, the teaching staff, the students,

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Speaker 1: it's it's certainly a school that I hear a lot

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Speaker 1: of wonderful things about and I've no doubt that everybody

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Speaker 1: is just really upset by what's happened.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and looking at your comment there about I've got

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Speaker 2: nothing but exactly the same things to say myself to

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Speaker 2: look and people are voting with their feet as well,

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Speaker 2: because it's it's in our system of schools. We've got schools.

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Speaker 2: Lachlin is remarkable this year for increasing its enrollment by

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Speaker 2: a percentage pretty much more than any other school in

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Speaker 2: the system. So people are looking at it and saying,

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Speaker 2: I want my kids to go there, and I think

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Speaker 2: to have this happen now and to make them sort

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Speaker 2: of go, well, gay, is my kids safe? I totally

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Speaker 2: understand that question, and I would like to It's great

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Speaker 2: to have this opportunity to reassure them that everything that

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Speaker 2: we can possibly look at to understand this, respond to it,

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Speaker 2: and learn from it is happening. And that's at the

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Speaker 2: office level, and that's at the school level, and the

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Speaker 2: staff's concerned for the welfare of the kids was just

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Speaker 2: born out in mere response yesterday. So I think that's

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Speaker 2: the best thing I can say that there's an incredibly

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Speaker 2: caring community that is doing everything that can to understand

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Speaker 2: this situation and to have things in place. Two, you know,

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Speaker 2: we can't stop people jumping fences and running into yards.

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Speaker 2: That's almost impossible. You have a fence around the school

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Speaker 2: to try and preclude that, and to be honest, I

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Speaker 2: remember the days of in the past when we didn't

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Speaker 2: have YES because of the things, you know, and that's

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Speaker 2: what we do now, so that if someone's intent on

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Speaker 2: avoiding those security measures and trying to get in there,

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Speaker 2: well we've got to be able to respond as best

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Speaker 2: we can if that does occur. And it's very very rare.

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Speaker 2: It's incredibly rare for this kind of thing to happen,

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Speaker 2: and it is something we really hope doesn't happen again.

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Speaker 2: But I do want to reassure parents that we're learning

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Speaker 2: from this and we are doing everything we can to

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Speaker 2: have that presence and supervision to look after those students.

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Speaker 1: Catholic Education Into Director Paul Greeves, we are going to

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Speaker 1: have to leave it there. I really appreciate your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. Thank you for taking the time to have

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Speaker 1: a chat with us.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you