Tuesday, 30 May 2023

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (12:54): (196) My constituency question is for the Minister for Public Transport. In recent months there have been regular reports of violent incidents occurring at school bus stops and interchanges in the City of Greater Shepparton. In early May three Notre Dame students were seriously assaulted in Skene Street whilst waiting for their bus at the end of the school day, with two of the students requiring hospital treatment. Recently a school student waiting for his bus to school at the V/Line stop in Tatura was assaulted by three assailants. The escalation in violence at school bus stops in Greater Shepparton has caused some schools to hire private security to protect students, but this measure is of course cost prohibitive for most schools. The deployment of protective services officers would be a proactive way of reducing violent incidents. Will the minister facilitate the deployment of protective services officers at school bus interchanges in Greater Shepparton and the V/Line bus stop in Tatura to help protect the safety of students in Greater Shepparton?