The safety of Yass Valley Children and Youth travelling to the Australian Capital Territory for schooling has been brought in to question by Yass Valley Councillor Kristin Butler.
Councillor Butler, in a Notice of Motion to Yass Valley Council has stated, “There has been an incident that has unfolded at Hall Bus Interchange……where a male was arrested in the public toilets for being indecent. Hall Interchange sees at least 100 Yass Valley youth traversing through there twice a day, left unattended for up to 20 minutes each time. There is no supervisor.”
Councillor Butler also highlighted the changing culture of children on buses. She stated, “The bus culture is also changing, and seeing vaping, obscene language, bullying and pornographic material on mobile phones being shown to children as young as six. We need to ensure that children are protected to the best of our ability.”
The motion states, “That Council writes to the appropriate government representative, including the Member for Goulburn, Wendy Tuckerman MP, to advocate for the safety of Yass Valley children and youth during physical bus transportation from NSW to the ACT, and at the Hall Bus Interchange when travelling to the ACT for education.”
It will come before Council on Wednesday night.
CEO Chris Berry responded to the motion and the description given by Councillor Butler. He said, “Hall is located within the ACT and TfNSW has no jurisdiction in the ACT. The bus culture can be raised with TfNSW and the bus companies in addition to the Member for Goulburn. A message around ‘stranger danger’ may be best delivered by the schools that Yass Valley students attend in the ACT. However, Council could mention this issue via social media and raise the issue with the Hall & District Progress Association which covers the 2618 postcode.”
The issue may need a cross border approach with the ACT Government and policing network working alongside their NSW counterparts on the issue. Anecdotal evidence suggest that with accessibility to vaping products and the rise of mobile phone technology, such alleged instances are widespread across many schools world wide. The addition of the allegation of the arrest is most concerning.