Norfolk Island school in limbo after teacher’s long journey in vain

Susie Hale made the 3800km round trip from Norfolk Island to Canberra, desperate for a face to face with Assistant Territories Minister Nola Marino. But she returned with no answers.

Susie Hale, centre with blonde hair, and fellow teachers at the Norfolk Island Central School.

Susie Hale made the 3800km round trip from Norfolk Island to Canberra this week, desperate for 15 minutes face to face with Assistant Territories Minister Nola Marino to discuss a serious issue.

Despite repeated requests over the past month, it wasn’t until late on Tuesday that Marino advised Ms Hale she “will not be taking further meetings this week”. So, Ms Hale returned home on Friday with no answers.

Time isn’t on Norfolk’s side. It’s been six years since the federal government revoked the island’s self-governance status and the domino effect is about to hit their only school. For reasons that remain unexplained, NSW has decided to stop delivering education services in December, leaving the island in limbo.

“Something has to be done. Something has to happen. There’s no other option for us,” Ms Hale said. “We’re an island that’s 8km by 5km, 1000km from Australia. There isn’t another school down the road that we can go to.”

There are 300 students at the Norfolk Island Central School, from kindergarten to year 12. It’s a collection of Pitcairn descendants from the bounty mutineers who speak Norfuk as their first language, and newer arrivals who moved from NSW and fell in love with the pine trees, jagged cliffs and sandy beaches.

“What’s happening here is a classic case of out of sight and out of mind. If we were talking about an inner-city school, we wouldn’t be having this discussion, there would be a level of urgency,” Angelo Gavrielatos from the NSW Teachers Federation vented.

Since the end of self-governance, uncertainty has led to a huge turnover of Centre School staff. It’s not uncommon for a year 12 class to have three or four teachers in 18 months. After NSW announced it was bowing out, all planning stalled for the next year, with senior students unable to pick elective subjects.

“It’s the human impact that nobody sees,” Ms Hale said. “The council of elders of the island who have prided themselves on the provision of public education for 100 years, suddenly, through no fault of their own and completely out of their control, they don’t know what happens next.

“While it remains unresolved, students are suffering, teachers are stressed, and parents and the community remain out in the cold without an answer as to who will provide education on Norfolk Island in the immediate future.”

Every state and territory, bar the Top End, has been approached to take over education, health and legislation services. Queensland is currently considering it.

Ms Hale suspects Ms Marino has been incommunicado because she doesn’t have a plan. “They’d rather communicate no news, but that’s not good enough because we’re just stuck in limbo wondering what’s going on, who’s going to teach our kids,” she said.

It was a “deliberate snub”, according to Mr Gavrielatos.

Ms Marino was circumspect when asked about her full calendar. “The government is taking this matter extremely seriously … Negotiations with potential partners to secure long-term service provision are ongoing. More information will be provided when it is appropriate to do so,” she said

Ms Hale does have one person on her side: Labor MP David Smith is the member for Bean in the ACT, which includes Norfolk Island. Mr Smith is leading a parliamentary delegation to the island in the first week of July.