Security grants for five schools
THE Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor visited Mount Scopus College on Thursday to announce the next round of school security grants recipients.
NAOMI LEVIN
THE Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor visited Mount Scopus College on Thursday to announce the next round of school security grant recipients.
Five Victorian Jewish schools received a share of the $2 million allocation to build or maintain security infrastructure. The funding was awarded to Adass Israel College, Leibler Yavneh College, Sholem Aleichem College, Yesodei Hatorah College and Mount Scopus as part of the $20 million, four year Secure Schools Program.
“There are some in our community that are not as secure as others,” O’Connor told Jewish school principals and presidents gathered at Mount Scopus.
He said it is incumbent on the community and the government to provide for the security of students, and that is why the federal Government is financing new fences, closed-circuit television cameras and other security infrastructure.
“I’m sure these measures will ensure these schools are safer places,” he said, adding that later in the year he will be seeking advice from state governments about strategies for future school security funding.
Mount Scopus Rabbi James Kennard, like the other recipients, welcomed the additional funds. He said the schools are not only potentially threatened by terrorism, but also by locals committing hate crimes.
“Until today, security was a burden shouldered by the schools and the parents along. From today, that burden is shared,” he said.
He praised Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby, who was present at the announcement, for his decade-long fight to obtain government funding for at-risk schools to spend on security. He also thanked local member Anna Burke for her assistance.
Ten Australian Jewish schools received funding in the first round allocation announced in April. These included five Sydney Jewish schools, Carmel School in Perth and Sinai College in Brisbane. A number of Islamic schools and some government schools also received funding for security in that round.
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