Burdekin MP calls on state government to use truancy data to help youth crime issue

The State Education Minister says its ‘misleading’ to link attendance rates with truancy but Burdekin MP Dale Last says the region’s youth crime problem needs to be looked at from ‘all angles’.

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THE State Education Minister says its “misleading” to link attendance rates with truancy but Burdekin MP Dale Last says the region’s youth crime problem needs to be looked at from “all angles”.

Mr Last has pushed the state government to look at truancy data as a way to help combat youth crime issues and slammed the Minister for failing to provide specific statistics.

But Minister Grace Grace said attendance rates take into account all absences, including illness or family reasons.

“In 2019, the average attendance rate for all state schools was 90.5 per cent, with the North Queensland Region reporting a rate of 87.4 per cent,” Ms Grace said.

“It is also important to note that a major natural disaster occurred in this region in 2019, which would have impacted families and student attendance.”

Ms Grace said state schools in North Queensland had a range of strategies to improve and maintain school attendance and engagement, including breakfast problems, strong parents and community engagement, and having programs that reward students for positive attendance.

Burdekin MP and opposition spokesman for police Dale Last. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

Minister Grace Grace. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jono Searle

She said the Department of Education closely monitored students absences, with schools and regional office staff working with parents and carers to identify issues underpinning the non-attendance of their child at school.

“Schools also refer cases to the regionally based Youth Engagement Hub which case manages

and re-engages disengaged young people back into school, training and or employment,” Ms Grace said.

“The Youth Engagement Hub, North Queensland Region, works collaboratively with school

leadership teams, internal specialist staff and external agencies, including the Department of

Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs, the Queensland Police Service, and

non-state schools.”

Ms Grace said a Court Liaison Officer attended Townsville Children’s Court and the High Risk Youth Court to respond to requests from the magistrate about enrolment, education history and suitable education options.

The Burdekin MP said engagement in education was a key part of looking at the youth crime epidemic as a whole.

“I think having engagement in education taken into account by magistrates is worthwhile but to refer to the High Risk Youth Court poses more questions than answers because the government hasn’t undertaken an evaluation,” Mr Last said.

He said to address youth crime, the government needed to look at all the data, evaluate it and engage with the community.

“If the Minister has a problem with absences and the effects of natural disasters being included with truancy, then she should publish the truancy rates openly so the community can see what is really going on,” he said.

“Given the fact that the Minister hasn’t provided a rate for what she would call truancy, I think it’s safe to assume that North Queensland’s school attendance is lower than the state average and that’s a concern for all of us.”

Originally published as Burdekin MP calls on state government to use truancy data to help youth crime issue