Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has called on the Minister for Education, James Merlino, to include a school for autistic children in the Shepparton Education Plan.

Ms Sheed met with Mr Merlino yesterday following a speech in Parliament during which she asked the Minister to consider providing appropriate services for Shepparton District students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as part of the Government’s plan to overhaul education in the region.

Ms Sheed said establishing an autistic school in regional Victoria was a key recommendation of this year’s Inquiry into Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and said Shepparton would be an ideal location.

“Shepparton District is home to a significant number of young people with ASD and there are high levels of disadvantage in our community,” Ms Sheed said.

“Many of these children are being home-schooled or have disengaged from schooling altogether, simply because they do not have affordable access to services that sufficiently cater to their needs.”

Ms Sheed said it was important to ensure the Shepparton Education Plan was inclusive and met the needs of the breadth of the community.

“There has long been a lack of understanding and knowledge in the school sector about ASD and we need to find a model that will work,” Ms Sheed said.

“At a time when we have strong Government interest in transforming the way education is delivered to students in our region, it would make sense for Shepparton to be considered as the home for the first school of this kind in regional Victoria.”

The Shepparton Education Plan Strategic Advisory Committee, which Ms Sheed chairs, is due to submit its recommendation regarding secondary schooling to the Minister next month.

ENDS

Media contact

Riahn Smith 0419 138 978│riahn.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has called on the Minister for Mental Health, Martin Foley, to clarify the Government’s position on the proposed drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre at Numurkah.

In Question Time yesterday, Ms Sheed reminded the Minister the facility had been on the agenda for more than two years and said it was a vital service for the region.

“The reputed ice epidemic affecting our young people, the ongoing and well known issues caused by alcohol addiction and the overall lack of residential treatment services across regional Victoria are just some of the reasons why such a service in our region is necessary,” Ms Sheed said. 

Ms Sheed also acknowledged there had been concerns expressed by some Numurkah residents regarding the planning and environmental impact of the development and asked the Minister what steps would be taken to address these issues and mitigate any potential risks.

Mr Foley said the Government was committed to tackling the drug issues in regional Victoria and had allocated funding for a rehabilitation centre in the Hume region.

He said while community concerns about the impact such a service would have on a community were understandable, he said support could usually be advanced when issues were worked through.

He also told the Parliament he would work with Ms Sheed and the broader community to build support for the project.

ENDS

Media contact

Riahn Smith 0419 138 978│riahn.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au

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The cancellation of this month’s meeting of Murray Darling Basin Water Ministers is yet another failure of governments to address the concerns of basin communities, says Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed.

The water ministers were due to consider key environmental projects as well as the Ernst Young review on the recovery of a further 450GL of water at the November 24 meeting, which has been cancelled at the request of the Federal Government.

Ms Sheed said the meeting would have been a watershed moment for communities to influence the decisions that would affect their future.

“I’m very disappointed that the Federal Government has taken this approach to what is such a time sensitive issue,” Ms Sheed said.

“They have been distracted from the running of the country by high court citizenship challenges and with former Deputy Prime Minister and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce now contesting a by-election, the government is clearly struggling to meet its responsibilities.

“Meanwhile, our irrigation communities will continue to hurt until something is done to restore industry certainty and faith in the Murray Darling Basin Plan.”

Ms Sheed said a Southern Basin Water Summit due to be held next Friday at Tatura which was designed to lobby governments to take immediate action to mitigate damage in basin communities would now be postponed.

“We have had such a positive response to the water summit and a real consensus being built around a united Southern Basin voice for the first time but no one is listening,” Ms Sheed said.

“The MDBA and the Federal Government haven’t been listening, they’re still not listening, and now they’re not even going to be in the same room to listen to each other.

“We don’t want to postpone our meeting, but it seems to be our only option. Our message is far too important to the future of our regions to risk not being heard while the decision-makers are so distracted.”

Ms Sheed said there was ample evidence from reputable reports which showed the serious impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan on farming towns and communities throughout the Southern Basin.

“The ABC’s Four Corners report brought many of the issues facing basin communities to the fore, but the problems regarding governance, technical modelling and the socio-economic repercussions go much deeper,” Ms Sheed said.

“Too many questions have been raised in the numerous inquiries, reviews and evaluations to keep forging blindly ahead without a solid understanding of the reality on the ground.

“We might have postponed the summit, but we will not let this lie.”

The Southern Basin Water Summit had been convened to discuss key issues including:

–       an overview of the environmental gains;

–       a review of the completed socio-economic studies and their relationship to the recovery of the additional 450GL;

–       the failure of the Murray Darling Basin Authority to effectively monitor the Plan and ensure compliance;

–       questions around the latest cap compliance report and the actual amount of water in the system;

–       unresolved issues regarding constraints projects; and

–       opportunities for moving forward.

 

ENDS

Media contact

Riahn Smith 0419 138 978│riahn.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au

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