Safety and security for Aurukun teachers upgraded

Published Tuesday, 05 July, 2016 at 12:36 PM

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Education and Minister for Tourism and Major Events
The Honourable Kate Jones

Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Minister for Corrective Services
The Honourable Bill Byrne

The Palaszczuk Government has completed a full security assessment and rolled out major upgrades to improve safety for teachers at Aurukun.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Education Minister Kate Jones said these measures were designed to improve the safety and security of school staff returning to Aurukun for the new school term next week.

“There have been no reports of incidents of violence within the school. Wider community unrest had raised serious concerns about the safety of the teachers,” the Premier said.

“When teachers return to community we want to ensure we have done all we can to ensure their safety.”

Ms Jones said security at teacher housing has been improved with upgraded security fencing, new security lights, distress alarms and security systems.

“Teachers will also be issued with a personal distress alarm,” the Minister said.

“We’ve also beefed up the security presence into the community with the department employing eight additional security staff to provide additional personal and property protection.”

Ms Jones said all education staff returning to the Aurukun community would receive a security briefing.

“We want to ensure our staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to keep safe,” she said.

“Planning is also underway to develop a new housing precinct for teachers to further strengthen security.”

Police Minister Bill Byrne said the Queensland Police Service would continue to work closely with the Department of Education and other government groups.

“There are currently 23 police officers already on the ground in Aurukun,” he said.

“Police will also continue to maintain a strong presence on the routes into the community.”

ENDS