Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We know the government is bringing back truancy officers to
get kids to school now. They're going to be known
as school Attendance Officers and they've commenced patrols this month.
The Minister for Education, Joe Hersey says the new school
Attendance Officers are going to be tasked with issuing compliance
and infringement notices, including three hundred and seventy dollar fines
(00:21):
for parents who break the law and fail to send
their kids to school. Now, the Minister for Education and Training,
Joe Hersey joins me in the studio. Good morning to
your minister.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good morning Katie, and good morning listeners. And it's wonderful
be here for the first time in your new.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Stude here Will and as the Minister, it's great to
have you on the show. I really appreciate you coming
in and welcome to our new digs much flashing and
our old ones, aren't.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
They much flash?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Now? Minister talk us through these new school attendance offices.
So are they going to be based right across the Northern.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Territory, Katie, that's right, they're bringing back truancy officers and
we have thirty five right across the territory. At the moment,
twenty four more will be recruited to Just last week
I was out in Palmerston with the attendant's officers and
it's about engaging with parents, talking to them, making sure
they understand the importance of getting their children to school.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
You know, if we came.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Across students, the attendants officer would talk to the students.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Why are they at school?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
You know some of them were suspended, so then they
go back and check that to make sure they're telling
the correct information, which they were. And to be honest,
everyone was very respectful and even yesterday when we were
at Casarina, the people were respectful of the attendants officers
and we're giving information. Some people were very embarrassed about
(01:44):
the fact they'd been caught out.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, right, But it's about engagement.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
We know that attendants rates have dropped right across the
territory and you know we have been going on about
this in opposition and now in government that right across
the territory the attendant's rates have fallen, and you know,
we cannot get kids to school if we don't go
out and you know, try and work out some of
the problems that are happening out in the communities. We
(02:09):
know that housing is an issue. You know, there's a
lot of issues that.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
There is no doubt, there's a lot of complex issues
in the Northern Territory. However, we do have to get
kids to school and.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Education is law to get your children to school.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
It is against the law to refrain from sending your
child to school.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So thirty five of these offices currently operating around the
Northern Territory. What locations are they in at the moment?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So they are right across the territory.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
We've got some here in Darwin, some out in the
Big Rivers region and in the Central region, but they're
in the Top End region as well, which is not
necessarily Darin sort of you know, out in that Parmesan
area as well, but they will be for example, in
the Big Rivers region, they work right across from Boro
Lula to large amountu yesterday in the shopping center. I've
(02:59):
seen them in in Catherine, you know, roaming the streets
or in the shopping center engaging with parents' youth. They've
got very nice high viz uniforms. They see who they
can absolutely see who they are.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Well, now, I mean, how exactly is it going to
work in the sense that let's say, you know, like
you were in the shopping center yesterday, they see some
kids that should be at school or at certainly during
school hours, you know, they approach them, they have a
conversation with them, I'm assuming, and then what sort of
the follow up from that point or what happens from there.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So they take the information that the children give them
or the parents give them, they have a bit of
a conversation about the importance of being at school, if
their parents talking to them about that as well, they,
like I said, when the one of them said last
week said they were suspended, they go back and check
that information. They can either ring back the department they're
(03:54):
working on trying to get you know, like an iPad,
make it a little bit more user friendly for them.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
But if these.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Attendance officers come across someone and you know, they can
issue a compliance notice, so then you know, that gets noted.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
But if these.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
People continually fly out the law and don't send their
children to school and they've had you know, a compliance
notice before, they can then be issued a three hundred
and seventy dollars fine for.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Not you know, having their children at school.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
What we want to make sure, Katie is that we
are just engaging with parents and students out there to
make sure they realize the importance of attending school, because,
as I said, you can't boost literacy, you can't boost
numeracy if you don't attend school.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Minister, one of the biggest questions we're already sort of
starting to get is what happens if people can't pay
that fine? You know, are we just issuing people with
fine and then it's going to go nowhere?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
So that can also be there is actually provisions for
that in place, and that's with the federal government, and
conversations have been had with federal members. So that can
be garnished from their sense link or whatever. And that's
not in one hit. That's you know, however they work out.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So is that operational already, like being garnished from their
center link, or is that something that you're working towards.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That is something that actually is in place already. It
just hasn't been enacted by the previous government. So it's
always been there and it is just something that has
not been So.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
You're saying, like for the last few years kids not
being at school, they could actually have been pulled up
on that and they could have actually been you know,
fined or had money taken from their center Link payments,
but the government hasn't been doing that.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
They have.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yes, so there has been and I don't have those
exact numbers of how many compliance notices had been given,
Sorry for listeners, I probably should have.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
That's right. We can always follow off if na.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, I'll get that back to you.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
But there have been some compliance notices issued, but nowhere
near for I don't know about you, Katie, but when
I'm out on the streets, whether it be up here
in Alice Brings, in Catherine wherever, there are a lot
of children that are not attending school. And as I say,
it is against the law to not attend school. And
you're not going to boost attendance, literacy and numeracy without attending.
(06:11):
You're not going to be able to you know, we
want people to finish year twelve and be able to
get out there and get a job.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Minister. One of the questions coming through this morning, Hi,
Katie and co. Can you please ask the Education Minister
if there is a website where people can go on
to to report families not sending their children to school.
I've got children next door that haven't been to school
all year. They're also under Territory Families supervision, so I'm
wondering how they're allowing this to happen. That one's actually
from Greg in Catherine.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That's actually a very good question. I will get back
to you with the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'm sure you can go on the Department of Education website,
but I will Greg.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I will one hundred percent get back to you on that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
But what I just want to say too, Katie is
when we're in Palmerston last week, a parent actually came
up to us and was talking to the attendant's office.
It's about how can I get my child to school?
They were trying their hardest to get their child to school,
the child was non compliant, and so that was a
really I found that quite interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I've actually interviewed people about this before. I've actually interviewed
a mom about this before, and that, you know, children
not wanting to go to school and parents really trying
to get them there and not being able to. And
I know that there's various different reasons. You know, in
some cases it may be learning difficulties or a disability
or various different reasons, but what's happening, Yeah, what will
(07:33):
happen for those families? Then if there's a genuine want
from the parents to actually get them to school but
they're not able.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
To, yes, so the department will follow up with that parent.
They took that lady's details and they'll follow up with
her and work with her on some ways that you know,
they can engage that child back into school.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Joe another one that's come through Christian schooled through to
say if the government's going to find parents for depriving kids,
repair bills, will stop the behavior? Quick says that one.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I think that's you know, obviously we are out
and high vis at the moment with the school attendance officers,
and I do believe that once you start coming down
on people and people understand that you know, there will
be a consequence for your behavior, then I think, you know,
(08:21):
obviously you will have some people that will continually flo
out the law, but I think people will get the message,
and you know, we absolutely hope that they will start
sending their children to school and that those kids will
understand that if you're roaming around in the shopping center,
you know, we've got no school, no service.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
There's lots of shops that I see that have that.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
It's about making sure that those children get to school
first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Minister, I understand it. There has You know, this has
been in place in the Northern Territory in the past
under the Federal coalition, as I understand it, and at
the time they scrapped it because they said that it
didn't work. I mean, what is your response to this
and how might this be done differently this time round
to ensure that it does work.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So what I can say to those people is that
as the Minister, I am very much accountable for making
sure that the statistics are raised in the attendance level
and we are working very hard with the department and
those attendance officers. This was an election commitment that we
have committed to. As I said, we've got high vised
(09:29):
people right across the territory. We're recruiting more to this. Also,
with the better fare of schools funding for next year,
schools that have an uptick in their funding they can
also choose to employ attendance officers in their school and
I know that in Catherine the High school do have
their own attendance officers as well as does. Last week
(09:50):
I was at Karama and they've employed someone at their
school as an attendance officer and it's you know, those
people are best suited in their school environments.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
They know the community, they know some of the trials
and tribulations of family.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
For the election, and continue to get asked is is
the government going to bring back the school based constables?
When are you going to bring them back? How's it
going to work?
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And thank you very much for that question.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
That was another election commitment of school based policing, to
raise school based policing and we are certainly working on that.
And also I'd like to let the listeners know school
based counseling. That's another one that's a very important service,
both of those school based constables or school based policing
for right across schools, for safety and counseling. You know,
(10:38):
for we know that when the government pulled those counselors
out of the schools and put them in the Mitteal Center,
that is not conducive here.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You did not want it. And Joe, do you know
what surprised me when that happened is it actually wasn't
parents that were contacting me. I actually had kids that
are at school contacting me on Instagram saying Katie, can
you please help? We need these counselors back into our
school now. For me, when you've got teenagers reaching out
to you finding you on social media, that indicates there.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Is a huge Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
And I have been on the record for a long
time Katie to say it was only the school based
constable that actually got my youngest through his last two
years of high school.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They are very important.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And I just think someone that when you go to
a door, you want a person behind there. You don't
want to be picking up the phone, sending a message,
sending an email. You want actually a warm body behind
that door, someone you can talk to, someone you can
divulge your thoughts with, and one hundred percent trust. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
So when do you reckon, we might see, you know,
a bit of a change when it comes to the
to the school based counselors.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
That is something that we are working on right now
along with the policing. I will have to get you
on that one there.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Thinking for the beginning of next year kind of scenario.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
We are certainly hoping to have more school based counselors
and policing in schools as of next year. And again
you know that's something that should schools like to employ
their own they can use their uptick in their funding
to do that. Or you know, there's there's a lot
of things with the Better Fare of Schools Agreement that
(12:20):
lots of schools are getting extra funding with. I was
just out at Elkoe Island and you know that they
have a great bilingual program out there that they are
you know, they can use that extra money that they're
getting for their bilingual programs. So you know, there's there's
a lot of schools remotely getting extra funding because they
(12:42):
are now funded on enrollment and.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Not attendance, and so what they could use that on
counselors or anything they could even like even for the
bilingual funding.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
For because it all comes from the same pot with
the Better for fer Schools Agreement, and so each school
gets their funding based on their enrollment. And in the
next two weeks that's all been worked through with the
schools at the moment and they'll have their budgets finalized.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
I think in the next two weeks.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
All right, we might catch up over the next few
weeks anyway. Minister for Education Joe Hersey. I really appreciate
you coming in this morning and speaking to us well
about all those different things happening in the education realm.
It sounds like you've definitely hit the ground running. You've
been out everywhere, and you've been out with the you know,
the school attendance offices finding out what's going on.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
I like that, that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
And I have my own shirt and hat, Katie, so
I am going to be putting my shirt and hat
on and I will be walking down the street of
Catherine talking to students as I.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Do put on you I like that. Even Bill Yam
was catching the bus a week or two ago. And
do you know what, I actually think it's a really
important thing to do to get out there, to be
on the ground, to experience, you know what those people
in those jobs are experiencing.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Keeps it real and I think that's a very important
thing in this role. I've learned very early on is
keep your feet on the ground, keep grounded, and keep
talking to people out there that are the people who
voted you in. I'm not opposed to getting the skinny
dog from Catherine to Darwin or any of those things.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I haven't done.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
The buses in Darwin yet, but that is actually on
my list to experience that good stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Joe Hersey, good to catch up with you this morning.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Really appreciate it. Thanks Katie, and thank you listiners.
We know the government is bringing back truancy officers to
get kids to school now. They're going to be known
as school Attendance Officers and they've commenced patrols this month.
The Minister for Education, Joe Hersey says the new school
Attendance Officers are going to be tasked with issuing compliance
and infringement notices, including three hundred and seventy dollar fines
(00:21):
for parents who break the law and fail to send
their kids to school. Now, the Minister for Education and Training,
Joe Hersey joins me in the studio. Good morning to
your minister.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good morning Katie, and good morning listeners. And it's wonderful
be here for the first time in your new.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Stude here Will and as the Minister, it's great to
have you on the show. I really appreciate you coming
in and welcome to our new digs much flashing and
our old ones, aren't.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
They much flash?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Now? Minister talk us through these new school attendance offices.
So are they going to be based right across the Northern.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Territory, Katie, that's right, they're bringing back truancy officers and
we have thirty five right across the territory. At the moment,
twenty four more will be recruited to Just last week
I was out in Palmerston with the attendant's officers and
it's about engaging with parents, talking to them, making sure
they understand the importance of getting their children to school.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
You know, if we came.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Across students, the attendants officer would talk to the students.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Why are they at school?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
You know some of them were suspended, so then they
go back and check that to make sure they're telling
the correct information, which they were. And to be honest,
everyone was very respectful and even yesterday when we were
at Casarina, the people were respectful of the attendants officers
and we're giving information. Some people were very embarrassed about
(01:44):
the fact they'd been caught out.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, right, But it's about engagement.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
We know that attendants rates have dropped right across the
territory and you know we have been going on about
this in opposition and now in government that right across
the territory the attendant's rates have fallen, and you know,
we cannot get kids to school if we don't go
out and you know, try and work out some of
the problems that are happening out in the communities. We
(02:09):
know that housing is an issue. You know, there's a
lot of issues that.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
There is no doubt, there's a lot of complex issues
in the Northern Territory. However, we do have to get
kids to school and.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Education is law to get your children to school.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
It is against the law to refrain from sending your
child to school.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So thirty five of these offices currently operating around the
Northern Territory. What locations are they in at the moment?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
So they are right across the territory.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
We've got some here in Darwin, some out in the
Big Rivers region and in the Central region, but they're
in the Top End region as well, which is not
necessarily Darin sort of you know, out in that Parmesan
area as well, but they will be for example, in
the Big Rivers region, they work right across from Boro
Lula to large amountu yesterday in the shopping center. I've
(02:59):
seen them in in Catherine, you know, roaming the streets
or in the shopping center engaging with parents' youth. They've
got very nice high viz uniforms. They see who they
can absolutely see who they are.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Well, now, I mean, how exactly is it going to
work in the sense that let's say, you know, like
you were in the shopping center yesterday, they see some
kids that should be at school or at certainly during
school hours, you know, they approach them, they have a
conversation with them, I'm assuming, and then what sort of
the follow up from that point or what happens from there.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
So they take the information that the children give them
or the parents give them, they have a bit of
a conversation about the importance of being at school, if
their parents talking to them about that as well, they,
like I said, when the one of them said last
week said they were suspended, they go back and check
that information. They can either ring back the department they're
(03:54):
working on trying to get you know, like an iPad,
make it a little bit more user friendly for them.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
But if these.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Attendance officers come across someone and you know, they can
issue a compliance notice, so then you know, that gets noted.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
But if these.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
People continually fly out the law and don't send their
children to school and they've had you know, a compliance
notice before, they can then be issued a three hundred
and seventy dollars fine for.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Not you know, having their children at school.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
What we want to make sure, Katie is that we
are just engaging with parents and students out there to
make sure they realize the importance of attending school, because,
as I said, you can't boost literacy, you can't boost
numeracy if you don't attend school.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Minister, one of the biggest questions we're already sort of
starting to get is what happens if people can't pay
that fine? You know, are we just issuing people with
fine and then it's going to go nowhere?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
So that can also be there is actually provisions for
that in place, and that's with the federal government, and
conversations have been had with federal members. So that can
be garnished from their sense link or whatever. And that's
not in one hit. That's you know, however they work out.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
So is that operational already, like being garnished from their
center link, or is that something that you're working towards.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
That is something that actually is in place already. It
just hasn't been enacted by the previous government. So it's
always been there and it is just something that has
not been So.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
You're saying, like for the last few years kids not
being at school, they could actually have been pulled up
on that and they could have actually been you know,
fined or had money taken from their center Link payments,
but the government hasn't been doing that.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
They have.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yes, so there has been and I don't have those
exact numbers of how many compliance notices had been given,
Sorry for listeners, I probably should have.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
That's right. We can always follow off if na.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Yeah, I'll get that back to you.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
But there have been some compliance notices issued, but nowhere
near for I don't know about you, Katie, but when
I'm out on the streets, whether it be up here
in Alice Brings, in Catherine wherever, there are a lot
of children that are not attending school. And as I say,
it is against the law to not attend school. And
you're not going to boost attendance, literacy and numeracy without attending.
(06:11):
You're not going to be able to you know, we
want people to finish year twelve and be able to
get out there and get a job.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Minister. One of the questions coming through this morning, Hi,
Katie and co. Can you please ask the Education Minister
if there is a website where people can go on
to to report families not sending their children to school.
I've got children next door that haven't been to school
all year. They're also under Territory Families supervision, so I'm
wondering how they're allowing this to happen. That one's actually
from Greg in Catherine.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
That's actually a very good question. I will get back
to you with the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'm sure you can go on the Department of Education website,
but I will Greg.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I will one hundred percent get back to you on that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
But what I just want to say too, Katie is
when we're in Palmerston last week, a parent actually came
up to us and was talking to the attendant's office.
It's about how can I get my child to school?
They were trying their hardest to get their child to school,
the child was non compliant, and so that was a
really I found that quite interesting.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I've actually interviewed people about this before. I've actually interviewed
a mom about this before, and that, you know, children
not wanting to go to school and parents really trying
to get them there and not being able to. And
I know that there's various different reasons. You know, in
some cases it may be learning difficulties or a disability
or various different reasons, but what's happening, Yeah, what will
(07:33):
happen for those families? Then if there's a genuine want
from the parents to actually get them to school but
they're not able.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
To, yes, so the department will follow up with that parent.
They took that lady's details and they'll follow up with
her and work with her on some ways that you know,
they can engage that child back into school.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Joe another one that's come through Christian schooled through to
say if the government's going to find parents for depriving kids,
repair bills, will stop the behavior? Quick says that one.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I think that's you know, obviously we are out
and high vis at the moment with the school attendance officers,
and I do believe that once you start coming down
on people and people understand that you know, there will
be a consequence for your behavior, then I think, you know,
(08:21):
obviously you will have some people that will continually flo
out the law, but I think people will get the message,
and you know, we absolutely hope that they will start
sending their children to school and that those kids will
understand that if you're roaming around in the shopping center,
you know, we've got no school, no service.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
There's lots of shops that I see that have that.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
It's about making sure that those children get to school
first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Minister, I understand it. There has You know, this has
been in place in the Northern Territory in the past
under the Federal coalition, as I understand it, and at
the time they scrapped it because they said that it
didn't work. I mean, what is your response to this
and how might this be done differently this time round
to ensure that it does work.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So what I can say to those people is that
as the Minister, I am very much accountable for making
sure that the statistics are raised in the attendance level
and we are working very hard with the department and
those attendance officers. This was an election commitment that we
have committed to. As I said, we've got high vised
(09:29):
people right across the territory. We're recruiting more to this. Also,
with the better fare of schools funding for next year,
schools that have an uptick in their funding they can
also choose to employ attendance officers in their school and
I know that in Catherine the High school do have
their own attendance officers as well as does. Last week
(09:50):
I was at Karama and they've employed someone at their
school as an attendance officer and it's you know, those
people are best suited in their school environments.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
They know the community, they know some of the trials
and tribulations of family.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
For the election, and continue to get asked is is
the government going to bring back the school based constables?
When are you going to bring them back? How's it
going to work?
Speaker 3 (10:13):
And thank you very much for that question.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
That was another election commitment of school based policing, to
raise school based policing and we are certainly working on that.
And also I'd like to let the listeners know school
based counseling. That's another one that's a very important service,
both of those school based constables or school based policing
for right across schools, for safety and counseling. You know,
(10:38):
for we know that when the government pulled those counselors
out of the schools and put them in the Mitteal Center,
that is not conducive here.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You did not want it. And Joe, do you know
what surprised me when that happened is it actually wasn't
parents that were contacting me. I actually had kids that
are at school contacting me on Instagram saying Katie, can
you please help? We need these counselors back into our
school now. For me, when you've got teenagers reaching out
to you finding you on social media, that indicates there.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Is a huge Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
And I have been on the record for a long
time Katie to say it was only the school based
constable that actually got my youngest through his last two
years of high school.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
They are very important.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
And I just think someone that when you go to
a door, you want a person behind there. You don't
want to be picking up the phone, sending a message,
sending an email. You want actually a warm body behind
that door, someone you can talk to, someone you can
divulge your thoughts with, and one hundred percent trust. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
So when do you reckon, we might see, you know,
a bit of a change when it comes to the
to the school based counselors.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
That is something that we are working on right now
along with the policing. I will have to get you
on that one there.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Thinking for the beginning of next year kind of scenario.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
We are certainly hoping to have more school based counselors
and policing in schools as of next year. And again
you know that's something that should schools like to employ
their own they can use their uptick in their funding
to do that. Or you know, there's there's a lot
of things with the Better Fare of Schools Agreement that
(12:20):
lots of schools are getting extra funding with. I was
just out at Elkoe Island and you know that they
have a great bilingual program out there that they are
you know, they can use that extra money that they're
getting for their bilingual programs. So you know, there's there's
a lot of schools remotely getting extra funding because they
(12:42):
are now funded on enrollment and.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Not attendance, and so what they could use that on
counselors or anything they could even like even for the
bilingual funding.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
For because it all comes from the same pot with
the Better for fer Schools Agreement, and so each school
gets their funding based on their enrollment. And in the
next two weeks that's all been worked through with the
schools at the moment and they'll have their budgets finalized.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
I think in the next two weeks.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
All right, we might catch up over the next few
weeks anyway. Minister for Education Joe Hersey. I really appreciate
you coming in this morning and speaking to us well
about all those different things happening in the education realm.
It sounds like you've definitely hit the ground running. You've
been out everywhere, and you've been out with the you know,
the school attendance offices finding out what's going on.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
I like that, that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
And I have my own shirt and hat, Katie, so
I am going to be putting my shirt and hat
on and I will be walking down the street of
Catherine talking to students as I.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Do put on you I like that. Even Bill Yam
was catching the bus a week or two ago. And
do you know what, I actually think it's a really
important thing to do to get out there, to be
on the ground, to experience, you know what those people
in those jobs are experiencing.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Keeps it real and I think that's a very important
thing in this role. I've learned very early on is
keep your feet on the ground, keep grounded, and keep
talking to people out there that are the people who
voted you in. I'm not opposed to getting the skinny
dog from Catherine to Darwin or any of those things.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I haven't done.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
The buses in Darwin yet, but that is actually on
my list to experience that good stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Joe Hersey, good to catch up with you this morning.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Really appreciate it. Thanks Katie, and thank you listiners.
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