Central Australian town camps face cuts to school transport

BLAME games are being played by the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments over who is responsible for cutting off town camp school transport.

Nigel Scullion at the spot where he assisted a bashed man.

BLAME games are being played by the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments amid confusion over who is responsible for cutting off school transport to and from town camps next year.

Indigenous children living in town camps will struggle getting to school as the Northern Territory Department of Education has confirmed funding for their specific bus runs will be dumped at the end of this year.

The Territory government has been quick to point the finger at the Commonwealth for slashing funds, but the Federal Government denies it will stop financing the Territory’s programs for disadvantaged students.

Schools affected by the stoppage are part of the NT’s Engaging Urban Students (EUS) reform, set up to address disadvantaged students’ barriers to education.

Money for the EUS reform flows from a Commonwealth initiative, part of the Low Socio-Economic Status (SES) School Communities and Closing the Gap National Partnerships.

'‘The EUS funding is all Federal Government funding that’s been available to the Department of Education and distributed to low SES schools,’’ said Stewart Moyses, director of School Performance at the department.

While Mr Moyses claimed commonwealth funding had an end date, Federal Senator for the Northern Territory Nigel Scullion has told The Advocate federal funding under the National Partnerships will continue in 2014.

‘‘The Northern Territory Government provides the bus service through funding provided by the Commonwealth under the low socio-economic school attendance national partnership.The funding under this partnership will continue to be provided to the North-ern Territory Government in 2014,’’ Mr Scullion said.

‘‘It is entirely a matter for the Northern Territory Government as to whether it continues to fund the buses through its Engaging Urban Students scheme.’’

The confusion is being felt on all sides as the NT’s Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Kon Vatskalis, urged the Territory Government to lobby their Canberra colleagues to reinstate the funding for 2014.

‘‘The CLP Government’s man in Canberra Nigel Scullion should be fighting to ensure this school bus program continues to be funded,’’ Mr Vatskalis said.

But Mr Moyses said the Education Department had done a good job lobbying the Federal Government for more funding for low socio-economic status schools.

‘‘Again, it comes down to the priorities of the Federal Government,’’ he said.

The transport stoppage will affect 16 schools in the Northern Territory, including five in Alice Springs and two in Tennant Creek.