Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

to move:

That this House:

(1)

expresses its deep concern about the problem of chronic school absences in Australia;

(2)

notes that children who miss large amounts of schooling will be severely disadvantaged in later life;

(3)

recognises that the impacts on the wider community of chronic school absences can include juvenile crime, higher rates of incarceration and welfare dependency;

(4)

encourages state governments to increase their efforts in providing support for families whose children are missing a great deal of school time; and

(5)

considers the Commonwealth has a role to play in reducing school absences through arranging family support teams and, potentially in instances where parents absolutely refuse to cooperate in sending their children to school, through mutual obligation arrangements for government income support payments.

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