‘Attempted aggravated burglaries’ shuts Kintore school, staff ‘withdrawn’ from community, dept of ed says

More details have emerged about a troubled Red Centre community with another service withdrawing its services from the town. Read the latest.

Kintore/Walungurru School. Picture: Department of Education/ Walungurru School

September 10: A dialysis provider has also pulled staff out of a Red Centre community a day after department of education staff were withdrawn, a local health provider says, while the school could potentially reopen next week.

More details have emerged from the remote community of Kintore, where the school is currently shut due to education staff being “withdrawn” from the community, a Department of Education spokesperson said.

The staff were withdrawn August 28, the department spokesperson said, after an “attempted aggravated burglary” the previous night.

But the Department of Education employees weren’t the only ones to leave, the Pintupi Homelands Health service chief executive Leander Menezes said.

“Purple House has also pulled out,” he said.

“They have told me they are working on security upgrades so that their staff feel safe to come back as well.”

Dr Menezes said the Purple House staff pulled out of Kintore the day after the Department of Education staff and had yet to receive word on when they would return.

“Because of a few people, the perpetrators, the entire renal patients who were on dialysis had to be thrown out of community and back to Alice Springs,” he said.

Kintore-based Pintupi Homelands Health Service chief executive Dr Leander Menezes. Picture: Supplied

“They’re away from country. They’re, to be honest, not in the best health shape, and they would want to be closer to family in that time that they’re going through so much.”

Dr Menezes said he received no word on when Purple House would return, but was “in touch” with the chief executives.

Responding to questions from this masthead, Purple House said “as always, Purple House is focused on taking care of our patients and staff and supporting our communities”.

A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed Walungurru (Kintore) School “is aiming to resume school operations on Monday, September 16”.

Affected staff have been give provisional accommodation in Alice Springs, the spokesperson said, and “are being supported”.

“Staff numbers will be sufficient to provide for the education of students in community,” the spokesperson said.

“Staff wellbeing and safety remains our priority.”

Looking to the future, Dr Menezes hopes to see everything back to normal by the start of term three, and said other services hadn’t pulled out of the town.

“We did not stop service provision,” he said.

“We have made that commitment to be out here, we’ve got to somewhat be a bit more resilient to ensure service provision is never compromised.”

Northern Territory Police said they received reports of a “criminal damage incident” which allegedly occurred 11.50pm on August 27 in Kintore.

“No entry was gained to the residence and no injuries or threats were reported to police,” police said.

“Police are yet to identify the alleged offenders.

“Police continue to proactively engage with relevant stakeholders through various community forums.”

School shut, staff ‘withdrawn’ from community after serious incident

Street scenes in Walungurru (Kintore) NT.

September 9: A Red Centre school is shut for an undisclosed period of time and education staff “withdrawn from the community” after they were the victim of “attempted aggravated burglaries”, the Department of Education says.

A Department of Education spokesperson said Northern Territory Police were currently investigating “attempted aggravated burglaries involving departmental staff in Territory government housing in Walungurru (Kintore)”.

“The school has been closed temporarily and our staff withdrawn from the community,” the spokesperson said.

“The safety and wellbeing of our staff and students is our priority and the department will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

“The department is working to re-open the school as quickly as possible.”

The spokesperson said the department was “investigating enhanced security options” for staff stationed in the community, alongside “reviewing our current safety arrangements”.

The department did not provide this masthead with a date on when the school would reopen.

Northern Territory Police has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as ‘Attempted aggravated burglaries’ shuts Kintore school, staff ‘withdrawn’ from community, dept of ed says