LABOR PUTS QLD KIDS LAST

NEW DATA SPELLS MORE FAILURE UNDER LABOR

Extraordinary new statistics have exposed Labor’s failure to support at-risk children and protect students and teachers in our schools.

Yesterday Labor announced their Putting Queensland Kids First plan – but the facts speak for themselves, Labor has put Queensland kids last for the past decade.

Clearly Labor was aware, new SDA Data (Student Disciplinary Absences; Suspensions, Exclusions etc) from the Department of Education was due to be released revealing the true extent of Queensland’s education crisis and the Palaszczuk-Miles Government’s failure to solve it.

These failures have allowed at risk kids to fall through the cracks and further fuelled Queensland’s Youth Crime Crisis.

​Labor’s rushed announcement was a deliberate attempt to provide a smokescreen for this extraordinary data and try and hide Labor’s abysmal record from Queenslanders.

​This is Labor’s record when it comes to at-risk kids in Queensland schools: 

Palaszczuk-Miles Labor Government (2015-2023)

• Total SDA’s are up 17.1% (11,980 additional instances)
• Short Suspensions are up 18.5% (11,933 additional instances)
• Long Suspensions are up 16.3%
• Exclusions are up 19.6%
   

Year on Year (2022-2023)

• Total SDA’s are up 5% (3,892 additional instances)
• Short Suspensions are up 5.2% (3,787 additional instances)
• Exclusions are up 9.3%
• Indigenous Student SDAs - Up 11.2%
• Prep Student SDAs - Up 7.9%
   

Additional Data and Statistics for the 2023 School Year

• 24,450 Suspensions and Exclusions for Property Damage, Physical Aggression, and Property Misuse Causing Risk to Others - Including 561 instances of students in Prep alone
• 2,353 Suspensions and Exclusions for Bullying
• 18 Suspensions and Exclusions for Bomb Threat/False Alarm - Including 3 Primary school students
• 2,650 Suspensions and Exclusions for Substance Misconduct Involving Illegal Substances - Including 123 instances of primary students from Years 2-6
• 1,279 Suspensions and Exclusions for Use/possession of Weapons & Combustibles Including: 156 instances of students from Prep-Year 4 and 198 instances of students from Years 5-6 

Shadow Education Minister Dr Christian Rowan said this is just another example of how Labor will do and say anything to cling onto power.

“The Palaszczuk-Miles Government has failed to properly support at-risk kids in Queensland schools over the last decade.

“Yesterday’s rushed attempt to make an announcement before these statistics were released has exposed more chaos and crisis under Labor. It shows they care more about how things look instead how things actually are. 

​“Labor isn’t putting Queensland kids first, their record proves they’ve put them last for years and are now just doing and saying anything because an election is approaching. 

“Frontline principals and teachers have been reporting this explosion of violence and bad behaviour for years and yet the Labor Government has not listened.

“The lesson Queenslanders have learned is you cannot trust the Labor Government to properly look after at-risk children and ensure a safe environment in Queensland schools.”

“Labor has failed our kids and hard-working teachers for far too long.

“Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland’s Future, including saving you paying for Labor’s failures.”