Legislative Council, Tuesday 6 August 2024

My next question, which I took on notice, was from the member for Murchison, who asked about the responsibility for the safety of children in situations where their parents have utilised the only available transport option for their child.

1. The answer is that all school bus arrangements are managed by the Department of State Growth, including the bus routes for Wynyard High School and Hellyer College. The Department of Education, Children and Young People staff can be timetabled for before- and after-school duty, including bus duty, 30 minutes prior to the commencement and conclusion of the school day.

School bus services are designed to arrive and depart within 30 minutes of school hours as stipulated in the school bus service eligibility guidelines, as far as is reasonably possible. Parents and caregivers are responsible for ensuring their child can travel to and from school independently throughout the journey or seek alternative arrangements.

2. You asked if I would work with the Minister for Transport to seek to alter the bus route or the alternate route to ensure all children can be under effective supervision from the time they alight from the school bus in the morning until their disembarkation from the school bus in the afternoon. I have consulted with the minister for Transport to better understand the situation and possible options. I am advised that the Department of State Growth has instructed the three bus operators to manage services more closely to arrive at 7.55 a.m. rather than 7.45 a.m. as scheduled. A major interchange outside Wynyard High School means a single bus from a regional area, such as Rocky Cape or Myalla, can connect students to both Wynyard and Burnie schools. Students interchange at WHS onto buses that travel to their Burnie School. To delay services to arrive at WHS closer to 8.45 a.m. would make the Burnie students late to school. Morning buses must go to Wynyard first due to geographical constraints and the layout of WHS feeder school catchment areas. To cater exactly for Wynyard High School start and finish times and still support access to Burnie schools, noting that Burnie has the only government-specialised year 11 and 12 college, would require separate services from each regional origin point. Running two lower patronage services along a very similar route 20 minutes apart is not consistent with the service eligibility guidelines which provide for equitable and efficient network planning. The government's overarching objective is to provide safe, affordable and equitable school bus services to students that meet reasonable transport needs efficiently and effectively within budget constraints. Interchange arrangements offer families in less densely populated regions more efficient services and a much broader range of enrolment options. The need to interchange buses is a normal part of student travel. Wynyard High School has sent information to families, I am advised, including the passenger code of conduct and supervised hours, school hours, et cetera, to their school community.