Labor’s emergency plans for Victorian schools
The Victorian State Labor party will provide $600,000 to help schools develop and implement their Emergency Management Plans to be prepared for incidents resulting from racial or religious intolerance.
Josh Burns
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, James Merlino, joined Labor Candidate for Caulfield, Josh Burns, at Melbourne’s Beth Rivkah Ladies’ College in St Kilda East to make the important announcement.
Expert assessments reveal that some schools at risk of attack are not adequately prepared. Others aren’t getting the support they need from Government.
Labor’s funding will help schools focus on evacuation and lock-down plans, command, control and liaison procedures, the establishment of Crisis Emergency teams, scenario training and drills.
An Andrews Labor Government will support Victorian schools at risk of harassment or violent attacks.
Josh Burns told J-Wire: “Within the Caulfield electorate there are six Jewish day schools…Mt Scopus, Yeshiva, Beth Rivkah, Sholem Aleichem, Adass, Yavneh. Local schools and the community have worked hard to get this off the ground and I’m proud that Labor is taking action. The security measures will keep students safe, but schools will also make sure they don’t intrude upon the day-to-day lives of our kids.”
Merlino added: “Parents want to drop their kids off at school knowing they’ll be safe. Victoria is the birthplace of multiculturalism and bigotry has no place at our school gates.”
Burns and Southwick (MLA for Caulfield) should remember that an elected MP must represent the whole electorate on education and other state issues. They are not elected to care for minority interests only.