Carenne Support acts after information released on Sydney Indymedia

One of the non-profit organisations at the heart of the Carenne Gate affair has been forced to act following the release of information on Sydney Indymedia.

On 2 October 2009, I mentioned in this article that Carenne Support's paid CEO (who was un-named in the original posting but it is Christine Porter) remained on the board of directors despite being remunerated for her work (something frowned upon in a non-profit organisation). On 11 November 2009 I named the current directors of the company, referring to a report from Dun & Bradstreet.

Following the release of this information, Carenne Support removed Mrs Porter as a director, effective 24 November 2009. They also removed former Carenne Special School principal Jock Roxborough on the same day despite the Carenne Saviours claiming that he resigned the position some time ago.

It would appear that Carenne Support knew they had done the wrong thing and only acted after they were exposed on Sydney Indymedia.

It is interesting when directors of Carenne Support, Carenne Special School staff and senior DET officers claim Indymedia is full of lies that Carenne Support acts on the information.

Special Needs Transport Contractors Caught Out

During independent investigations being carried out in Bathurst today, it has been discovered that two contractors under the NSW Department of Education and Training's Special Needs Transport Service have been caught breaching the guidelines.

The first is Carenne Support, which today used a teacher as a driver on the run. I am told by Carenne Support staff that Roslyn Luther is not approved as an SNTS driver and as such her driving the bus breaks the guidelines set down by the department.

The second is Capebase Pty Ltd which made a claim for a full run to Lithgow which it didn't make today. Under the SNTS operators are only paid while there is a department approved passenger aboard, this can include students or a department paid escort. Today, one of Capebase's buses made the trip back to Lithgow empty and return in the afternoon after it dropped the alternating driver/escort at his home in Bathurst. The bus returned to the house in the afternoon to pick up the driver/escort.

Under the SNTS there are to be no unauthorised diversions whilst the operator is being paid. The photograph in this article indicates that the bus was parked at Steven Minshull's house in Bathurst this morning, where it left with only the driver aboard.

Carenne Special School staff claim that Simone Russell, who approves payments under the SNTS approved payment to Capebase knowing that it has been breaching the guidelines. It is alleged that this morning, Mrs Russell asked the driver if the escort would be staying in Bathurst for the day and the driver indicated that he was dropping him off.

DET fails to act on issues, school forced to close

The Western Advocate in Bathurst is today running an article about the forthcoming closure of Newbridge Public School. The school will be placed in "review" from 2010 to 2012, at which time the department may dispose of it if it is not re-opened.

In the article, Wayne Moore, a parent has accused the NSW Department of Education and Training as being "secretive" and claims that the department knew of problems at the school and has failed to act, which has led to parents transferring 13 of the school's 16 to other schools.

Mr Moore said “It seems that the NSW Government, and specifically the Department of Education, are up to their old tricks - tell people that everything is OK and then double cross them just before the festive season”.

Newbridge Public School is located within the Orange School District in the department's Western region.

Victimisation against staff who speak out emerges in other Western Region Schools

Allegations that staff who speak out against the Department of Education and Training in the Western Region of NSW are victimised having done so have emerged following incidents at Kelso Public School, West Bathurst Public School and Dubbo College. They claim that those close to regional director Carole McDiarmid are responsible for the victimisation.

Staff at West Bathurst Public School were told they face possible disciplinary action if they speak out about a number of serious issues at that school.

At Dubbo College, the NSW Teacher's Federation claimed that there was a better chance of being listened to rather than being dismissed as a group of people who were complaining for the sake of complaining when the minister became involved than when they were dealing with senior DET officials. As with the Carenne Special School, those who speak out against the department at Dubbo College must remain anonymous to avoid retribution from senior DET officials.

It appears there are very serious problems with the Western Region DET.

Staff Development Day Swap Unfair Say Carenne Staff

Staff of the Carenne Special School in Bathurst have questioned whether or not a number of staff should be allowed to take Thursday and Friday this week off after a deal was struck between former principal Lynette Duncan and staff that should they attend a staff development session on a Sunday they would receive the two department official days off at the end of term.

Staff claim this arrangement is unfair because even those staff who did not attend the Sunday development day are still receiving two days off. They believe that staff who did not attend should be required to attend school on Thursday and Friday this week.

Second Bathurst Protest Interrupted

On Friday, the Carenne Gate truck was joined in Bathurst by a van, which circulated the city with messages about the Carenne Gate affair in an attempt to raise awareness of this important political issue. The van circulated to the soundtrack of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, which has become the theme song of the Carenne Gate affair.

After of photographs of the van were taken as it passed the Carenne Special School function in the William Street, the van was stopped by Police who told the driver not to break any road rules and there would be no issue after they received a call about the vehicle.

Shortly thereafter, the protest van was interrupted when it is alleged that there was an attempt to carjack the driver in William Street.

Staff Condemn Presentation Day Awards

A number of Carenne Special School staff have made further allegations about the school presentation day on Friday, calling it a "joke" and a "farce". Staff allege that the awards process for staff and volunteers was flawed and ignored the significant contribution of some while rewarding others. The allegations follow complaints regarding a speech by Carole McDiarmid and the husband of P&C Committee member Simone Russell winning second place in the P&C raffle.

Staff have complained that the daughter of Simone Russell was given a gift for assisting her mother in the preparation for presentation day, despite spending no more than one day at the school on it. Staff also complained about a trainee being given a volunteer award while others went un-noticed.

The Carenne Saviours claim that the awards were slanted towards supporters of what has become known as the Klan.