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Speaker 1: We know the government is bringing back truancy officers to

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Speaker 1: get kids to school now. They're going to be known

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Speaker 1: as school Attendance Officers and they've commenced patrols this month.

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Speaker 1: The Minister for Education, Joe Hersey says the new school

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Speaker 1: Attendance Officers are going to be tasked with issuing compliance

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Speaker 1: and infringement notices, including three hundred and seventy dollar fines

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Speaker 1: for parents who break the law and fail to send

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Speaker 1: their kids to school. Now, the Minister for Education and Training,

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Speaker 1: Joe Hersey joins me in the studio. Good morning to

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Speaker 1: your minister.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and good morning listeners. And it's wonderful

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Speaker 2: be here for the first time in your new.

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Speaker 1: Stude here Will and as the Minister, it's great to

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Speaker 1: have you on the show. I really appreciate you coming

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Speaker 1: in and welcome to our new digs much flashing and

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Speaker 1: our old ones, aren't.

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Speaker 3: They much flash?

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Speaker 1: Now? Minister talk us through these new school attendance offices.

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Speaker 1: So are they going to be based right across the Northern.

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Speaker 2: Territory, Katie, that's right, they're bringing back truancy officers and

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Speaker 2: we have thirty five right across the territory. At the moment,

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Speaker 2: twenty four more will be recruited to Just last week

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Speaker 2: I was out in Palmerston with the attendant's officers and

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Speaker 2: it's about engaging with parents, talking to them, making sure

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Speaker 2: they understand the importance of getting their children to school.

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Speaker 3: You know, if we came.

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Speaker 2: Across students, the attendants officer would talk to the students.

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Speaker 3: Why are they at school?

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Speaker 2: You know some of them were suspended, so then they

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Speaker 2: go back and check that to make sure they're telling

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Speaker 2: the correct information, which they were. And to be honest,

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Speaker 2: everyone was very respectful and even yesterday when we were

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Speaker 2: at Casarina, the people were respectful of the attendants officers

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Speaker 2: and we're giving information. Some people were very embarrassed about

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Speaker 2: the fact they'd been caught out.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, right, But it's about engagement.

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Speaker 2: We know that attendants rates have dropped right across the

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Speaker 2: territory and you know we have been going on about

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Speaker 2: this in opposition and now in government that right across

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Speaker 2: the territory the attendant's rates have fallen, and you know,

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Speaker 2: we cannot get kids to school if we don't go

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Speaker 2: out and you know, try and work out some of

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Speaker 2: the problems that are happening out in the communities. We

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Speaker 2: know that housing is an issue. You know, there's a

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Speaker 2: lot of issues that.

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Speaker 1: There is no doubt, there's a lot of complex issues

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. However, we do have to get

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Speaker 1: kids to school and.

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Speaker 3: Education is law to get your children to school.

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Speaker 2: It is against the law to refrain from sending your

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Speaker 2: child to school.

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Speaker 1: So thirty five of these offices currently operating around the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory. What locations are they in at the moment?

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Speaker 3: So they are right across the territory.

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Speaker 2: We've got some here in Darwin, some out in the

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Speaker 2: Big Rivers region and in the Central region, but they're

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Speaker 2: in the Top End region as well, which is not

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Speaker 2: necessarily Darin sort of you know, out in that Parmesan

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Speaker 2: area as well, but they will be for example, in

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Speaker 2: the Big Rivers region, they work right across from Boro

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Speaker 2: Lula to large amountu yesterday in the shopping center. I've

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Speaker 2: seen them in in Catherine, you know, roaming the streets

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Speaker 2: or in the shopping center engaging with parents' youth. They've

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Speaker 2: got very nice high viz uniforms. They see who they

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Speaker 2: can absolutely see who they are.

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Speaker 1: Well, now, I mean, how exactly is it going to

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Speaker 1: work in the sense that let's say, you know, like

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Speaker 1: you were in the shopping center yesterday, they see some

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Speaker 1: kids that should be at school or at certainly during

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Speaker 1: school hours, you know, they approach them, they have a

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Speaker 1: conversation with them, I'm assuming, and then what sort of

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Speaker 1: the follow up from that point or what happens from there.

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Speaker 2: So they take the information that the children give them

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Speaker 2: or the parents give them, they have a bit of

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Speaker 2: a conversation about the importance of being at school, if

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Speaker 2: their parents talking to them about that as well, they,

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Speaker 2: like I said, when the one of them said last

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Speaker 2: week said they were suspended, they go back and check

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Speaker 2: that information. They can either ring back the department they're

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Speaker 2: working on trying to get you know, like an iPad,

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Speaker 2: make it a little bit more user friendly for them.

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Speaker 3: But if these.

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Speaker 2: Attendance officers come across someone and you know, they can

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Speaker 2: issue a compliance notice, so then you know, that gets noted.

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Speaker 3: But if these.

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Speaker 2: People continually fly out the law and don't send their

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Speaker 2: children to school and they've had you know, a compliance

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Speaker 2: notice before, they can then be issued a three hundred

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Speaker 2: and seventy dollars fine for.

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Speaker 3: Not you know, having their children at school.

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Speaker 2: What we want to make sure, Katie is that we

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Speaker 2: are just engaging with parents and students out there to

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Speaker 2: make sure they realize the importance of attending school, because,

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Speaker 2: as I said, you can't boost literacy, you can't boost

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Speaker 2: numeracy if you don't attend school.

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Speaker 1: Minister, one of the biggest questions we're already sort of

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Speaker 1: starting to get is what happens if people can't pay

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Speaker 1: that fine? You know, are we just issuing people with

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Speaker 1: fine and then it's going to go nowhere?

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Speaker 2: So that can also be there is actually provisions for

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Speaker 2: that in place, and that's with the federal government, and

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Speaker 2: conversations have been had with federal members. So that can

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Speaker 2: be garnished from their sense link or whatever. And that's

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Speaker 2: not in one hit. That's you know, however they work out.

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Speaker 1: So is that operational already, like being garnished from their

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Speaker 1: center link, or is that something that you're working towards.

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Speaker 2: That is something that actually is in place already. It

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Speaker 2: just hasn't been enacted by the previous government. So it's

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Speaker 2: always been there and it is just something that has

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Speaker 2: not been So.

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Speaker 1: You're saying, like for the last few years kids not

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Speaker 1: being at school, they could actually have been pulled up

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Speaker 1: on that and they could have actually been you know,

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Speaker 1: fined or had money taken from their center Link payments,

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Speaker 1: but the government hasn't been doing that.

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Speaker 3: They have.

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Speaker 2: Yes, so there has been and I don't have those

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Speaker 2: exact numbers of how many compliance notices had been given,

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Speaker 2: Sorry for listeners, I probably should have.

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Speaker 1: That's right. We can always follow off if na.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll get that back to you.

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Speaker 2: But there have been some compliance notices issued, but nowhere

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Speaker 2: near for I don't know about you, Katie, but when

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Speaker 2: I'm out on the streets, whether it be up here

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Speaker 2: in Alice Brings, in Catherine wherever, there are a lot

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Speaker 2: of children that are not attending school. And as I say,

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Speaker 2: it is against the law to not attend school. And

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Speaker 2: you're not going to boost attendance, literacy and numeracy without attending.

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Speaker 2: You're not going to be able to you know, we

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Speaker 2: want people to finish year twelve and be able to

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Speaker 2: get out there and get a job.

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Speaker 1: Minister. One of the questions coming through this morning, Hi,

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Speaker 1: Katie and co. Can you please ask the Education Minister

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Speaker 1: if there is a website where people can go on

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Speaker 1: to to report families not sending their children to school.

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Speaker 1: I've got children next door that haven't been to school

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Speaker 1: all year. They're also under Territory Families supervision, so I'm

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Speaker 1: wondering how they're allowing this to happen. That one's actually

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Speaker 1: from Greg in Catherine.

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Speaker 3: That's actually a very good question. I will get back

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Speaker 3: to you with the answer to that.

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Speaker 2: I'm sure you can go on the Department of Education website,

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Speaker 2: but I will Greg.

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Speaker 3: I will one hundred percent get back to you on that.

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Speaker 2: But what I just want to say too, Katie is

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Speaker 2: when we're in Palmerston last week, a parent actually came

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Speaker 2: up to us and was talking to the attendant's office.

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Speaker 2: It's about how can I get my child to school?

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Speaker 2: They were trying their hardest to get their child to school,

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Speaker 2: the child was non compliant, and so that was a

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Speaker 2: really I found that quite interesting.

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Speaker 1: I've actually interviewed people about this before. I've actually interviewed

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Speaker 1: a mom about this before, and that, you know, children

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Speaker 1: not wanting to go to school and parents really trying

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Speaker 1: to get them there and not being able to. And

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Speaker 1: I know that there's various different reasons. You know, in

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Speaker 1: some cases it may be learning difficulties or a disability

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Speaker 1: or various different reasons, but what's happening, Yeah, what will

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Speaker 1: happen for those families? Then if there's a genuine want

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Speaker 1: from the parents to actually get them to school but

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Speaker 1: they're not able.

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Speaker 2: To, yes, so the department will follow up with that parent.

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Speaker 2: They took that lady's details and they'll follow up with

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Speaker 2: her and work with her on some ways that you know,

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Speaker 2: they can engage that child back into school.

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Speaker 1: Joe another one that's come through Christian schooled through to

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Speaker 1: say if the government's going to find parents for depriving kids,

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Speaker 1: repair bills, will stop the behavior? Quick says that one.

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Speaker 2: And I think that's you know, obviously we are out

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Speaker 2: and high vis at the moment with the school attendance officers,

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Speaker 2: and I do believe that once you start coming down

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Speaker 2: on people and people understand that you know, there will

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Speaker 2: be a consequence for your behavior, then I think, you know,

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Speaker 2: obviously you will have some people that will continually flo

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Speaker 2: out the law, but I think people will get the message,

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Speaker 2: and you know, we absolutely hope that they will start

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Speaker 2: sending their children to school and that those kids will

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Speaker 2: understand that if you're roaming around in the shopping center,

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Speaker 2: you know, we've got no school, no service.

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Speaker 3: There's lots of shops that I see that have that.

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Speaker 2: It's about making sure that those children get to school

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Speaker 2: first and foremost.

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Speaker 1: Minister, I understand it. There has You know, this has

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Speaker 1: been in place in the Northern Territory in the past

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Speaker 1: under the Federal coalition, as I understand it, and at

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Speaker 1: the time they scrapped it because they said that it

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Speaker 1: didn't work. I mean, what is your response to this

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Speaker 1: and how might this be done differently this time round

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Speaker 1: to ensure that it does work.

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Speaker 2: So what I can say to those people is that

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Speaker 2: as the Minister, I am very much accountable for making

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Speaker 2: sure that the statistics are raised in the attendance level

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Speaker 2: and we are working very hard with the department and

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Speaker 2: those attendance officers. This was an election commitment that we

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Speaker 2: have committed to. As I said, we've got high vised

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Speaker 2: people right across the territory. We're recruiting more to this. Also,

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Speaker 2: with the better fare of schools funding for next year,

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Speaker 2: schools that have an uptick in their funding they can

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Speaker 2: also choose to employ attendance officers in their school and

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Speaker 2: I know that in Catherine the High school do have

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Speaker 2: their own attendance officers as well as does. Last week

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Speaker 2: I was at Karama and they've employed someone at their

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Speaker 2: school as an attendance officer and it's you know, those

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Speaker 2: people are best suited in their school environments.

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Speaker 3: They know the community, they know some of the trials

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Speaker 3: and tribulations of family.

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Speaker 1: For the election, and continue to get asked is is

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Speaker 1: the government going to bring back the school based constables?

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Speaker 1: When are you going to bring them back? How's it

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Speaker 1: going to work?

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Speaker 3: And thank you very much for that question.

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Speaker 2: That was another election commitment of school based policing, to

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Speaker 2: raise school based policing and we are certainly working on that.

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Speaker 2: And also I'd like to let the listeners know school

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Speaker 2: based counseling. That's another one that's a very important service,

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Speaker 2: both of those school based constables or school based policing

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Speaker 2: for right across schools, for safety and counseling. You know,

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Speaker 2: for we know that when the government pulled those counselors

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Speaker 2: out of the schools and put them in the Mitteal Center,

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Speaker 2: that is not conducive here.

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Speaker 1: You did not want it. And Joe, do you know

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Speaker 1: what surprised me when that happened is it actually wasn't

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Speaker 1: parents that were contacting me. I actually had kids that

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Speaker 1: are at school contacting me on Instagram saying Katie, can

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Speaker 1: you please help? We need these counselors back into our

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Speaker 1: school now. For me, when you've got teenagers reaching out

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Speaker 1: to you finding you on social media, that indicates there.

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Speaker 3: Is a huge Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And I have been on the record for a long

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Speaker 2: time Katie to say it was only the school based

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Speaker 2: constable that actually got my youngest through his last two

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Speaker 2: years of high school.

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Speaker 3: They are very important.

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Speaker 2: And I just think someone that when you go to

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Speaker 2: a door, you want a person behind there. You don't

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Speaker 2: want to be picking up the phone, sending a message,

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Speaker 2: sending an email. You want actually a warm body behind

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Speaker 2: that door, someone you can talk to, someone you can

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Speaker 2: divulge your thoughts with, and one hundred percent trust. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So when do you reckon, we might see, you know,

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Speaker 1: a bit of a change when it comes to the

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Speaker 1: to the school based counselors.

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Speaker 2: That is something that we are working on right now

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Speaker 2: along with the policing. I will have to get you

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Speaker 2: on that one there.

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Speaker 1: Thinking for the beginning of next year kind of scenario.

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Speaker 2: We are certainly hoping to have more school based counselors

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Speaker 2: and policing in schools as of next year. And again

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Speaker 2: you know that's something that should schools like to employ

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Speaker 2: their own they can use their uptick in their funding

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Speaker 2: to do that. Or you know, there's there's a lot

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Speaker 2: of things with the Better Fare of Schools Agreement that

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Speaker 2: lots of schools are getting extra funding with. I was

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Speaker 2: just out at Elkoe Island and you know that they

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Speaker 2: have a great bilingual program out there that they are

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Speaker 2: you know, they can use that extra money that they're

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Speaker 2: getting for their bilingual programs. So you know, there's there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of schools remotely getting extra funding because they

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Speaker 2: are now funded on enrollment and.

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Speaker 1: Not attendance, and so what they could use that on

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Speaker 1: counselors or anything they could even like even for the

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Speaker 1: bilingual funding.

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Speaker 2: For because it all comes from the same pot with

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Speaker 2: the Better for fer Schools Agreement, and so each school

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Speaker 2: gets their funding based on their enrollment. And in the

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Speaker 2: next two weeks that's all been worked through with the

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Speaker 2: schools at the moment and they'll have their budgets finalized.

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Speaker 3: I think in the next two weeks.

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Speaker 1: All right, we might catch up over the next few

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Speaker 1: weeks anyway. Minister for Education Joe Hersey. I really appreciate

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Speaker 1: you coming in this morning and speaking to us well

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Speaker 1: about all those different things happening in the education realm.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like you've definitely hit the ground running. You've

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Speaker 1: been out everywhere, and you've been out with the you know,

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Speaker 1: the school attendance offices finding out what's going on.

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Speaker 3: I like that, that's right.

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Speaker 2: And I have my own shirt and hat, Katie, so

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Speaker 2: I am going to be putting my shirt and hat

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Speaker 2: on and I will be walking down the street of

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Speaker 2: Catherine talking to students as I.

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Speaker 1: Do put on you I like that. Even Bill Yam

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Speaker 1: was catching the bus a week or two ago. And

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Speaker 1: do you know what, I actually think it's a really

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Speaker 1: important thing to do to get out there, to be

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Speaker 1: on the ground, to experience, you know what those people

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Speaker 1: in those jobs are experiencing.

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Speaker 2: Keeps it real and I think that's a very important

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Speaker 2: thing in this role. I've learned very early on is

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Speaker 2: keep your feet on the ground, keep grounded, and keep

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Speaker 2: talking to people out there that are the people who

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Speaker 2: voted you in. I'm not opposed to getting the skinny

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Speaker 2: dog from Catherine to Darwin or any of those things.

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Speaker 3: I haven't done.

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Speaker 2: The buses in Darwin yet, but that is actually on

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Speaker 2: my list to experience that good stuff.

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Speaker 1: Joe Hersey, good to catch up with you this morning.

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Speaker 3: Really appreciate it. Thanks Katie, and thank you listiners.