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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Principals Association President Britany Roestenburg · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty
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  Speaker 1: every One is Listening Mixed one oh four point nine Well.
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  Speaker 2: Yesterday, the Independent Commissioner against Corruption Ken Fleming QC released
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  Speaker 2: a report into findings of corrupt conduct against a former
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  Speaker 2: principle of Milling Gimby School in central arnam Land. He's
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  Speaker 2: also made a series of recommendations relating to oversight and
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  Speaker 2: governance of remote schools now. The IKAK report found that
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  Speaker 2: Miss Jennifer Lee Sherrington benefited from her position as the
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  Speaker 2: principal of Milling Gimby School by misapplying Department of Education
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  Speaker 2: and Milling Gimbi School Funds Council Funds Sorry, misusing debit
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  Speaker 2: cards and exploiting the lack of guidelines and department oversight
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  Speaker 2: for the Principal's initiative cost code Now. In a response
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  Speaker 2: which has been issued to the NT News, Miss Sherrington
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  Speaker 2: denied the allegations and the preliminary letter from her legal
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  Speaker 2: representation read Miss Sherrington had a coagant and well an
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  Speaker 2: explanation for each and every allegation which explains which explanation
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  Speaker 2: she gave in great detail to her examination. Her answers
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  Speaker 2: are all available to be reading the transcript and in
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  Speaker 2: her documents supplied at the end of her examination. However,
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  Speaker 2: the contents of the report, the legal letterses or that
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  Speaker 2: draft report confirmed she has simply not been heard. So
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  Speaker 2: that's a response that she's provided or her legal team
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  Speaker 2: are provided to the paper. But Commissioner Ken Fleming has
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  Speaker 2: recommended that the department urgently review its approach to school autonomy,
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  Speaker 2: budgets and resourcing and properly scrutinize future funding. Now, the
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  Speaker 2: IKAK also urged the department to audit school attendance figures
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  Speaker 2: for fraud and to review all government employee housing tenants
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  Speaker 2: to make sure that they are indeed eligible. Now joining
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  Speaker 2: me on the line to talk more about the situation
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  Speaker 2: is the NT Principles Association President Brittany Rostenberg.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to your Brittany.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Brittany, what was your reaction to that report? Firstly,
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  Speaker 1: so the.
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  Speaker 3: ICAQ report based on the findings is disappointing, but I
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  Speaker 3: am sure that this is an isolated case.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that was going to be the next thing
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  Speaker 2: i'd ask, are you concerned that it's not just a
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  Speaker 2: one off.
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  Speaker 3: No, I'm confident that this is an isolated case. We
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  Speaker 3: have got amazing, incredible, dedicated principles doing a job in
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  Speaker 3: very complex environment, particularly in our remote communities, and there
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  Speaker 3: are a number of policies and checks and balances in
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  Speaker 3: place that our principles are following.
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  Speaker 2: Now, when it comes to the recommendations which are in
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  Speaker 2: this ICAC report, are there any which need to happen
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  Speaker 2: as a matter of urgency.
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  Speaker 3: I have spoken to the Department of Education and they
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  Speaker 3: are taking the recommendations here and I think that they
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  Speaker 3: will be looking at all of them and just making
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  Speaker 3: sure that we're working with principals cogso, just to make
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  Speaker 3: sure that we're following all the processes and policism, that
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  Speaker 3: we've got the right support in place for all of
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  Speaker 3: our principles.
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  Speaker 2: Brittany, I mean, does this situation place a cloud over
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  Speaker 2: all of the principles in the Northern Territory, particularly those
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  Speaker 2: that are in remote schools.
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  Speaker 3: It has the potential too, but I think we need
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  Speaker 3: to focus on the amazing job and the amazing results.
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  Speaker 3: We've got a very strong focus on everyday counts and
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  Speaker 3: there are some amazing stories of success and really high achievement,
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  Speaker 3: particularly around U twelve completions and a lot of our remotes.
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  Speaker 3: I think we just need to focus on the good
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  Speaker 3: side of this.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, have we got a situation though, where principles
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  Speaker 2: in some remote areas are given too much freedom.
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  Speaker 3: I don't think so. I think principles are given a
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  Speaker 3: level of amy and the majority of them are doing
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  Speaker 3: the best they possibly can to make everyday counsel all
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  Speaker 3: of our students.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, does it, potentially, though, I suppose, expose how
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  Speaker 2: vulnerable our regional schools are and can be if you know,
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  Speaker 2: if somebody wants to do the wrong thing.
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  Speaker 3: I think it highlights that we need to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that we do have the right support, particularly where we've
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  Speaker 3: got less experienced people in our remote community. So just
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  Speaker 3: making sure that the system level support is there for
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  Speaker 3: those people.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that there was enough support in this instance.
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  Speaker 3: I can't comment on the level of support, but I
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  Speaker 3: know that the majority of our members and I certainly
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  Speaker 3: as a principal supported by the system, and there are
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  Speaker 3: people there within the Finance Department to reach out for
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  Speaker 3: support and particularly with cogso they're very supportive.
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  Speaker 1: Has there I mean or has this and or will
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  Speaker 1: it have an impact?
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  Speaker 2: Do you think on kids not only I suppose at
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  Speaker 2: this school, but other remote schools in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 3: No, I don't think so. I think the message from
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  Speaker 3: department about government money is very clear that it needs
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  Speaker 3: to be spent on our cohort of students and really
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  Speaker 3: striving to be the most improving system, and that's what
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  Speaker 3: we do.
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  Speaker 1: Brittany.
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  Speaker 2: Have you had the opportunity to reach out to the
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  Speaker 2: school out there in Millan Gimbi and how are they
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  Speaker 2: all going upon seeing this report come out?
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  Speaker 3: I haven't yet, but I will be reaching out. But
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  Speaker 3: I know that there's a team around the community and
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  Speaker 3: the leadership team out there. So I have a very
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  Speaker 3: strong prince of out there at the moment, and I'm
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  Speaker 3: sure he'll do an amazing job working with community.
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  Speaker 1: Brittany.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I guess to any of the parents out
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  Speaker 2: there listening this morning, who'll maybe thinking, goodness me, you know,
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  Speaker 2: how do we wind up in a situation like this
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  Speaker 2: where something like this has happened and you know where
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  Speaker 2: we end up with an IKACH report into a school
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  Speaker 2: principle in a remote community. I mean, what would you
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  Speaker 2: say to those parents that are concerned about a failure
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  Speaker 2: in the system.
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  Speaker 3: The department will respond to the recommendations and we'll continue
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  Speaker 3: to make sure that we have the right people in
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  Speaker 3: the right jobs, providing the right support to principles, with
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  Speaker 3: the right checks and balances.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Brittany, I really appreciate your time this morning. Brittany
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  Speaker 2: Rosenberg from the NT Principals Association, the President, thank you
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  Speaker 2: very much for having.
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  Speaker 1: A quick chat with us.
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  Speaker 3: Have a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you too. Thank you