Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: This is a Briefing document that has been prepared to outline what happened to a School that parents, their children, teachers and friends founded, and operated, with local, State and Federal Government approvals.
The School not only implemented, from 1996, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in its day to day operation, but its Staff and Students attended conferences delivering information about the Convention. The School was successful for those who chose it. Graduates (and even those long term Students whose learning was severely interrupted by the actions of the State to close their School) have gone on to lead full, interesting lives as independent effective adults. They've either established their own businesses, become employed or, in most instances, undertaken further education and successfully completed their courses. Using new discriminatory, anti-human rights, restrictive legislation the State took away the School's accreditation - against the wishes of all those people directly connected; and in spite of letters and e-mails written by fee paying parents, qualified Teachers, and the Students of the School; and people, organisations, Schools, and Petitions raised locally, on the internet and at international conferences. The new legislation made it a "crime" for anyone to operate a non-accredited non-State School. After the School's accreditation was cancelled all the people involved decided to operate a "Democratic Centre of Learning", not a School, using the facilities, resources and qualified Teachers, because this is what accorded with their beliefs, principles and values. They funded this themselves, with parents being heavily involved, volunteering their time along with Staff. This happened for 2.5 years, until the Queensland Minister for Education threatened criminal action and fines against the Directors (all parents) of the not for profit parent company. Unfortunately complying with legal advice the operation of the Centre was suspended, and the Minister was advised in writing by the Solicitors accordingly. 4 months later one Director (a parent) was charged, by Summons in the Mail, with the "criminal" offence operating a non-accredited non-State School. The Director was on bail for some 7 months until after supplying no evidence the charge was dropped. We cannot take our cause further than we have in Australia, without an incredibly expensive action in Australia's High Court Only a change in the politics of the State might enable that self imposed suspension to be lifted. Considered international opinion might help. Delays in finishing a partly prepared complaint to the UN HRC have been caused by the need to build a business and earn an income, the need to maintain what was the School's campus and its resources, the loss of mains power (a big storm took down 250m of internal powerline in 2009) restricting our electricity to 5.5 hours a day through the use of a generator, etc. This Briefing about what happened to the School and its people, will not be represented by any other group from Australia, despite the issues being widely reported locally, State wide and nationally. Australian NGO's appear to follow the line that because public education is available, then there's no need to be concerned about human rights in education, and an independent School does not fit their profile of people and an organisation worthy of making representations. This is despite the fact that ordinary people wanted this and developed and resourced a School through personal sacrifice, donations, fees, fundraising and Staff mostly volunteering their time; young people of a range of socio-economic backgrounds including indigenous Australians took up this democratic School alternative to traditional, mainstream education and flourished, learning what they needed to know; it was a low fee School; it assured human rights according to international human rights law as ratified by successive Australian governments for all the people involved, creating not only a democratic workplace, but an environment in which democratic values of freedom, respect, trust, equality, justice, fairness and responsibility were constantly being strived for; and it was not for profit. Australia regularly grandstands about human rights in international fora, but still fails to implement human rights for Australians. We cannot claim rights which are neither legislated Federally or, more importantly in our Federal system, by the States. Attached are the following:
Owner: Derek Sheppard
2005