The Western Australian Council of State School Organisations (WACSSO) is the peak body representing parents of public school students in Western Australia. WACSSO provides advice, and services to more than 650 Parents and Citizens Associations (P&Cs) in Western Australia and represents public school parents to decision-makers and organisations at the State and National levels. In its capacity as the peak body for public school parents, WACSSO State Council recently voted to write to relevant leaders regarding the cancellation of the Yuna South East Bus service. The cancellation of this service, and the way in which the decision was made and communicated, has far-reaching implications for parents and families in regional towns.
“This is not about one child or one family,” says WACSSO President Pania Turner. “We understand that the community approached this issue proactively with the Public Transport Authority and the State Government, offering viable solutions that would not require the cancellation of this service. Yet the decision to cancel the service was made with no community consultation.
“Our concerns regarding the cancellation are two-fold. Firstly, we are concerned for the family and the ability of the children to attend school, and secondly, we do not want this situation repeated in other regional areas. Efficiency and cost must not be primary drivers over the responsibilities of service delivery and community. We understand this is not the first time a regional bus service has been cancelled for financial or efficiency reasons with little or no consultation with the community involved and we are deeply concerned this pattern will be repeated. We echo the arguments put forward by the Yuna community, who assert that collaboration is essential to ensure services are in place to the boost attraction and retention of families to rural locations. Access to a local primary school and a school bus service is paramount to these goals,” she added.
As a part of its advocacy activity, the WACSSO President has written to the Transport Minister and the Executive Director Transperth System, Regional and School Bus Services regarding this decision. WACSSO has also written to Mr Rundle MLA acknowledging his support of this issue and community. WACSSO representatives attended Parliament House on November 7 in support of the Yuna community as a grievance on this decision was formally put to Parliament by Mr Rundle MLA. In the response to this grievance, the Minister for Transport has committed to extending the Yuna South East bus service for a further 12 months. Other promises included restarting the bus service for the community of Kondinin, subject to due diligence, who have waited ten years for this commitment.
“While we acknowledge the extension of the Yuna South East bus service announced on November 7 and the commitment to further community consultation, we emphasise to the Government that this is not about one family and providing the service to see that child through primary school. There are whole communities who are affected by the cancellation of bus services, and the flow-on consequences of decisions such as these include the inability to attract families to regional areas, decimation of local schools as parents are forced to choose alternative options and the requirement that the primary caregiver take time off work – up to four hours a day in this case – to transport their children to and from school. This is simply not good enough for our regional communities,” emphasised Pania Turner.
WACSSO will continue to advocate for parents and P&Cs who are engaged in discussions regarding transport to and from school. With everything from safe active transport, to staffing school crossings, to access to buses equipped with seatbelts, the WACSSO State Council is frequently engaging with leaders in the education and transport contexts, advocating for better outcomes for WA public school families.
