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Shepparton ideal for regional autism school

November 30, 2017/in Media Releases

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

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-30 01:54:112020-02-07 02:45:08Shepparton ideal for regional autism school

Road safety a priority for Strathmerton community

November 28, 2017/in Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has called on the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan, to clarify what action is being taken to address the safety concerns of the Strathmerton community regarding the traffic speed restrictions along their stretch of the Murray Valley Highway.

Ms Sheed said community members had been talking with the relevant state and local authorities about a possible reduction of the speed limits in the township for some time, but that discussions seemed to have stalled. 

The Strathmerton Community Steering Committee has written to VicRoads to request an extension of the School Zone Speed Limit hours which currently do not align with the school bus timetable and mean children are required to cross the highway with vehicles travelling at 80km/h.

Ms Sheed said VicRoads traffic monitoring showed the Murray Valley Highway was a busy road often frequented by large trucks servicing local agricultural industries.

“Some of these trucks also face challenges turning into the highway from Numurkah Rd, unable to get up to speed fast enough to safely cater for traffic advancing on them from behind,” Ms Sheed said.

“There is also concern about the safety of other community members simply wishing to cross the highways to go about their day-to-day business. 

“I would ask (the Minister) to make enquiries as to how this dangerous situation can be satisfactorily resolved.”

ENDS

Media contact

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

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-28 04:04:482020-02-07 02:45:08Road safety a priority for Strathmerton community

Call for clarity on Numurkah drug rehabilitation centre

November 16, 2017/in Media Releases

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

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-16 03:51:252020-02-07 02:45:09Call for clarity on Numurkah drug rehabilitation centre

Treatment options needed for FASD sufferers

November 16, 2017/in Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has called on the Minister for Families and Children, Jenny Mikakos, to establish a pilot treatment program for local children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

In Parliament on Tuesday Ms Sheed asked the Minister to meet with representatives from health, education and early childhood services in the community who are extremely concerned about the lack of appropriate interventions for young people who have been diagnosed with the insidious disease.

Ms Sheed said research showed that a child’s prospects could be positively altered with the right kind of treatment and that it was time for investment in a specialised approach to what is one of the major non-genetic causes of long-term, irreversible brain injury.

“There are many children in my electorate who have been diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder – also known as FASD – over a long period of time,” Ms Sheed said.

“Many of these children grow to cause major disruption in the community as teenagers and many of them, now adults, are in the prison system.”

Ms Sheed said it was time to move beyond diagnosis, assessments and research and into possible therapeutic treatment options.

“My community is already taking steps in this direction with key service providers working together to share their knowledge, but we need a plan for action,” Ms Sheed said.

“If we are to break the cycles of disadvantage in our community, we need to provide these therapeutic interventions to help the children affected and we need to evaluate such interventions so that we can continue to find better solutions to the embedded challenges that children and young people with FAD encounter in their day-to-day lives.”

ENDS

Media contact

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

 

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-16 03:44:462020-02-07 02:45:07Treatment options needed for FASD sufferers

Government failures hurting water communities

November 3, 2017/in Media Releases

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

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-03 01:56:522020-02-07 02:45:53Government failures hurting water communities

Recommendations near for Shepparton Education Plan

November 3, 2017/in Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed says recommendations for the Shepparton Education Plan are nearing completion.

Ms Sheed said the local Strategic Advisory Committee was due to report to the Minister for Education, James Merlino, by the end of the year.

“For the past six months our Strategic Advisory Committee has been working hard with the community and the Department of Education to develop a blueprint to transform education in Shepparton and Mooroopna,” Ms Sheed said.

“We’re now nearing the end of the planning journey and are finalising our recommendation to the Minister for Education in preparation for funding consideration in the next Budget.

 

“I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the process. Your views have been invaluable and it has been wonderful to witness your commitment to improving the educational opportunities for our kids.”

Ms Sheed used her Members Statement yesterday to update the Parliament on the plan’s progress following the second stage of community consultation which closed on October 18 after being extended due to demand.

The community provided feedback on four options, favouring two of the options which could see the four local secondary colleges combined into a super-school.

Details of the plan options can be found at https://engage.vic.gov.au/SheppartonEducationPlan.

A full copy of Ms Sheed’s speech is included below:

The Auditor-General’s Access to Education for Rural Students report in 2014 found that regional and rural students fall behind their city counterparts when it comes to academic achievement, aspiration and secondary school completion.

Falling enrolments, below average Victorian certificate of education scores and consecutively poor NAPLAN results in the Shepparton district tell a similar storyAs part of the Shepparton education plan we have surveyed community views on current service provision, and the message could not have been clearer: our kids deserve better.

For the past six months our strategic advisory committee has been working hard, both in the community and with the Department of Education and Training, to develop a blueprint for change.

We visited schools across Victoria to see firsthand how others have overcome similar challenges of declining enrolments, socio-economic disadvantage and general lack of financial investment.

After the first round of consultation four options were developed but were quickly refined to two, with the community favoured option having the potential to bring fundamental change to the way in which education is delivered in Shepparton and Mooroopna by combining our four secondary schools possibly into one, but located on one or two campuses.

I acknowledge that this is drastic change, but the time for putting bandaids on the system has gone. It is time for transformation.

The plan is to start with secondary schools, but we know that a child’s early years are the key to future success and have identified an immediate need for this to be addressed in Mooroopna.

The advisory committee will be finalising its recommendation to the Minister for Education in preparation for consideration in the next budget.

 

ENDS

Media contact

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

Click here for PDF version.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2017-11-03 01:51:422020-02-07 02:45:54Recommendations near for Shepparton Education Plan

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