Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Australian Greens amendments (11) to (18) on sheet 7229 revised:

(11)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 15 (line 26), before "The Secretary", insert "(1)".

(12)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (line 3), omit "is required", substitute "may be required".

(13)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (line 7), at the end of section 124NB, add:

  ; (e)   the consequences under this Division of not complying with a requirement to enter into such a school attendance plan.

(14)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (after line 7), at the end of section 124NB, add:

(2)   The schooling requirement person may be accompanied at the conference by no more than 2 other persons chosen by the person, and those persons are entitled to be heard at the conference.

(15)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (line 12), at the end of subsection 124NC(1), add "at the conference".

(16)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (line 16), after "plan", insert "at the conference,".

(17)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (line 21), omit paragraph 124NC(3)(b).

(18)   Schedule 2, item 11, page 16 (lines 24 and 25), omit subsection 124NC(4).

These amendments are very simple. They are designed to improve the conference process to make families aware of the consequences of not following attendance plans and to ensure that they are supported throughout the process. I spoke earlier in my contribution—about the first amendment, in which we opposed schedule 2—about the ways in which this is likely to work better if parents are fully aware, if they are consulted and if they are brought into the picture as to what will happen if attendance plans are not followed. Doing that with them, so sitting down with them and taking the time to make sure that that conference process is properly consultative, is likely, in our view, to bring out the other factors, the confounding factors, that are likely to be preventing kids from getting to school. So the amendments are fairly simple and I commend them to the chamber.