Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Austin Cove Baptist College is a new school that opened in February 2011 in my electorate. Shortly after opening, the school was beset by several tragedies in succession, including the deaths of two year-8 students: Lauren Ames, who passed away following a car accident on the way to school, and Georgie Spies, also aged 13, who died in a tragic tent explosion in Mandurah which also claimed the lives of her brother and father. The school was put under immense emotional strain and it was a terrible way for the new school to commence. Austin Cove's Principal, Orlando Dos Santos, has been in regular contact with me to explain the difficulties the school has endured and I have enjoyed a close relationship with the expanding school, which began just over 12 months ago, as I said, with 350 students but now has 545 students. Orlando applied for funding under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program in 2011. Sadly the school was rejected due to an eligibility prerequisite that the school be operational in 2010.

Following this rejection, I made several representations to the federal minister, Peter Garrett, asking for his compassionate intervention to ensure this grieving school received this funding they so clearly deserved. I have sent three letters to Minister Garrett—on 16 February 2011, 13 May 2011 and 2 February 2012. I also raised this issue in this very room this year. Minister Garrett has not been able to exercise any level of intervention to fix this appalling situation where a school that obviously requires a school chaplain has been denied access to a program that was implemented by the Howard government to address deserving situations such as Austin Cove now faces.

But sadly, it gets worse. In the last federal budget the Gillard government announced an expansion of the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program with an additional $222 million added to this valuable scheme. Subsequently Austin Cove applied for this round of funding, for which they were now truly eligible. I believe Minister Garrett, as the minister responsible, could have intervened earlier to deliver the funding. But, for whatever reason, Minister Garrett could not make this happen.

Unbelievably, Austin Cove found out on Friday last week that they had been denied funding under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program again. Why were they denied this funding, you might ask? After having the application rejected Mr Dos Santos contacted the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to obtain feedback. He was told they had failed to provide a letter from the parent body approving of the chaplain. In the school's very extensive application, Mr dos Santos provided no less than three letters from parents at the school. If this was not sufficient, the school was more than willing to provide whatever data was necessary to ensure the application was successful.

The parent body overwhelmingly supported having the chaplain at the school. In fact, Austin Cove Baptist College provided evidence that, in the last two years, part-time chaplains at the school had 104 requests for appointments, and a further 45 year 8 students provided a statement saying the school chaplain was worthwhile and they wanted to have the program continued. At the moment the school is having to sacrifice school teaching hours to provide a chaplain for these services. I am calling on the minister— (Time expired) I seek leave to incorporate these documents in support of my speech.

Leave not granted.