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Principals' new powers in school crackdown

Principals' new powers in school crackdown

Perth Now04-06-2025

The Allan government has announced sweeping new powers for school principals across Victoria, allowing them to take further action for student behaviour outside school grounds and online.From the first day of term 3 this year, principals across Victorian schools will have expanded powers to suspend or expel students for behaviour outside the school gates and behind a screen. Victorian principals will be granted the power to suspend or expel students for behaviour outside school or online. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall Credit: News Corp Australia
The change in powers is in line with NSW and South Australia, which have implemented such capacities for principals to suspend, exclude or expel students for behaviour that could affect student and staff safety.
It is also in response to an increase in online abuse and harassment among students, particularly online, including deepfakes and AI-generated images.
In February, police launched an investigation after a 'number of sexually explicit, digitally generated images of teenage girls who attend Gladstone Park Secondary College were circulated online'. The Allen government will introduce the new powers in term 3. NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui Credit: News Corp Australia
Education Minister Ben Carroll said the change would 'send a clear message that harmful behaviour outside of school or online has consequences'.
'In Victoria, community safety comes first,' he said.'The safety of students, teachers and school staff is our top priority – we're investing in programs that foster more respectful schools and acting to protect school communities.
'This builds on our nation-leading ban on mobile phones in schools and our support of a social media ban for kids – keeping kids safe in the classroom and online.' The new powers aim to crack down on bad behaviour outside school grounds and online. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia
As part of the sweeping new powers, $4.2m will be invested to offer support for victims who experienced sexual harm and abuse from another student – either online or in person – through Sexual Assault Services Victoria. The state budget also allocated $10.4m to expand the Positive Behaviour Support program, which teaches students appropriate behaviour, develops safe learning spaces and offers support for students who require behavioural assistance.

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Former Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto has rejected an 'offer of assistance' from Moira Deeming which would have saved him from imminent bankruptcy and prevented a costly by-election for his seat of Hawthorn. The former Liberal leader has just over two weeks to pay the $2.3 million he owes Ms Deeming or be declared bankrupt – an outcome that will see him thrown out of parliament. Mr Pesutto has already raised just over $750,000 in order to help settle the debt and is pushing for an agreement which would see the Liberal Party, or a party-linked investment fund, loan him the remaining $1.5 million. However, the Victorian Liberal Party remains deeply divided over whether its funds should be used to bail out the former leader, who was found to have defamed Ms Deeming as someone who 'associates with Nazis'. 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Ms Deeming outlined her motivations for the offer by citing her respect for party members and her dismay that funds intended to help the party win government would be used to bail out Mr Pesutto. 'I write to you as a Liberal and I make this offer as someone who deeply respects the rights of Liberal Party members to a party that is focused on winning the 2026 state election and securing a better future for all Victorians,' Ms Deeming states in the letter. 'I am dismayed by reports that the Liberal Party (Victorian Division) is considering an approach from Mr John Pesutto to meet his financial obligations in relation to a costs order made against him by the Federal Court after an earlier judgment that he defamed me. 'From the outset, both former president Mr Greg Mirabella and current incumbent Mr Philip Davis publicly stated that no party funds would be used in this action and to now expect the party to cover Mr Pesutto's substantial debts goes against the grain of everything we believe as Liberals.' Ms Deeming's letter states that the offer is 'not up for negotiation, and it expires at 5pm on Tuesday 10 June 2025'. 'I have suffered through a gruelling two and half years where almost every offer I made to negotiate a settlement was rejected,' the letter states. 'This is my final attempt to spare the Liberal Party further harm and to afford Mr Pesutto, and his family, the dignity that was denied me, my husband and my children.' However, Mr Pesutto has rejected the deal, with a strong backer of Ms Deeming accusing the member for Hawthorn of holding out for "holding out for the party or its entities to pay his bills". Sky News Australia's Peta Credlin reported on Wednesday that after asking for an additional 24 hours to respond, the former opposition leader put forward a counter offer. It is understood this would have seen him pay around $1.2 million of the debt in exchange for agreeing not to ask the party for a loan. "Understandably, his counter offer was rejected," Credlin said, adding that the Liberals she had spoken to "cannot fathom any of this". "Clearly, he's now pinning all his hopes on the Liberal Party bailing him out with a loan at an Admin Committee meeting that's now been shifted to next Thursday," she said. "I am told Pesutto wants 15 plus years to pay back this debt, which means to be honest, he will never pay it back." Sources close to Mr Pesutto have dismissed the proposal as unworkable. 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An 11th-hour offer from a defamed MP to partially defer an ousted state Liberal leader's $2.3 million legal bill in exchange for guaranteed preselection has fallen over. Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming wrote to former opposition leader John Pesutto, his successor Brad Battin and Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis on Sunday with a series of demands to spare Mr Pesutto bankruptcy. Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis who gatecrashed a Melbourne rally she attended in 2023. A bankruptcy notice was served to Mr Pesutto on Friday, leaving him 21 days to pay the debt, sign up to a payment arrangement or face bankruptcy. Bankruptcy would force his exit from Victorian parliament, setting up an expensive by-election in his marginal state seat of Hawthorn in Melbourne's east. 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AAP has also been told the money raised by Mr Pesutto was conditional on the party lending him the rest, about $1.5 million, which he has vowed to pay back with interest. The party's administrative committee is expected to meet to discuss Mr Pesutto's request on June 19. Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto were contacted for comment. An 11th-hour offer from a defamed MP to partially defer an ousted state Liberal leader's $2.3 million legal bill in exchange for guaranteed preselection has fallen over. Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming wrote to former opposition leader John Pesutto, his successor Brad Battin and Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis on Sunday with a series of demands to spare Mr Pesutto bankruptcy. Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis who gatecrashed a Melbourne rally she attended in 2023. 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A special resolution would have had to be passed to endorse preselection for her upper house seat so she could "enjoy the right to serve my community without any internal distractions which is something denied me to date". She also requested the party, through Mr Battin, pen an unreserved written and public apology to her and appoint of an independent person from outside the state to review internal dispute resolution mechanisms. The offer was non-negotiable and expired at 5pm on Tuesday after the parties were unable to agree. "I have suffered through a gruelling two and half years where almost every offer I made to negotiate a settlement was rejected," she wrote. "This is my final attempt to spare the Liberal Party further harm and to afford Mr Pesutto, and his family, the dignity that was denied to me, my husband and my children." One senior Liberal told AAP it was "outrageous" to attempt to use the pair's long-running dispute to secure preselection. Liberal preselection is traditionally completed through a vote of rank-and-file members, with the process for the next state election in November 2026 expected to begin from September. AAP has also been told the money raised by Mr Pesutto was conditional on the party lending him the rest, about $1.5 million, which he has vowed to pay back with interest. The party's administrative committee is expected to meet to discuss Mr Pesutto's request on June 19. Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto were contacted for comment. An 11th-hour offer from a defamed MP to partially defer an ousted state Liberal leader's $2.3 million legal bill in exchange for guaranteed preselection has fallen over. Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming wrote to former opposition leader John Pesutto, his successor Brad Battin and Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis on Sunday with a series of demands to spare Mr Pesutto bankruptcy. Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis who gatecrashed a Melbourne rally she attended in 2023. A bankruptcy notice was served to Mr Pesutto on Friday, leaving him 21 days to pay the debt, sign up to a payment arrangement or face bankruptcy. Bankruptcy would force his exit from Victorian parliament, setting up an expensive by-election in his marginal state seat of Hawthorn in Melbourne's east. In her letter to the trio, seen by AAP, Mrs Deeming said she was "dismayed" the state party was considering an approach from Mr Pesutto to meet his financial obligations to her. "It is because of the extraordinary support that I have received from rank-and-file members that I make this offer with the intention that the funds they have raised to fight the Labor Party remain solely directed to that important objective," she wrote. Her demands included Mr Pesutto paying the roughly $760,000 he has raised and deferring the remainder of his debt until March 30, 2027. A special resolution would have had to be passed to endorse preselection for her upper house seat so she could "enjoy the right to serve my community without any internal distractions which is something denied me to date". She also requested the party, through Mr Battin, pen an unreserved written and public apology to her and appoint of an independent person from outside the state to review internal dispute resolution mechanisms. The offer was non-negotiable and expired at 5pm on Tuesday after the parties were unable to agree. "I have suffered through a gruelling two and half years where almost every offer I made to negotiate a settlement was rejected," she wrote. "This is my final attempt to spare the Liberal Party further harm and to afford Mr Pesutto, and his family, the dignity that was denied to me, my husband and my children." One senior Liberal told AAP it was "outrageous" to attempt to use the pair's long-running dispute to secure preselection. Liberal preselection is traditionally completed through a vote of rank-and-file members, with the process for the next state election in November 2026 expected to begin from September. AAP has also been told the money raised by Mr Pesutto was conditional on the party lending him the rest, about $1.5 million, which he has vowed to pay back with interest. The party's administrative committee is expected to meet to discuss Mr Pesutto's request on June 19. Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto were contacted for comment. An 11th-hour offer from a defamed MP to partially defer an ousted state Liberal leader's $2.3 million legal bill in exchange for guaranteed preselection has fallen over. Victorian Liberal Moira Deeming wrote to former opposition leader John Pesutto, his successor Brad Battin and Victorian Liberal president Philip Davis on Sunday with a series of demands to spare Mr Pesutto bankruptcy. Mr Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3 million in legal costs to Mrs Deeming after the Federal Court found he defamed her by implying she was associated with neo-Nazis who gatecrashed a Melbourne rally she attended in 2023. A bankruptcy notice was served to Mr Pesutto on Friday, leaving him 21 days to pay the debt, sign up to a payment arrangement or face bankruptcy. Bankruptcy would force his exit from Victorian parliament, setting up an expensive by-election in his marginal state seat of Hawthorn in Melbourne's east. In her letter to the trio, seen by AAP, Mrs Deeming said she was "dismayed" the state party was considering an approach from Mr Pesutto to meet his financial obligations to her. "It is because of the extraordinary support that I have received from rank-and-file members that I make this offer with the intention that the funds they have raised to fight the Labor Party remain solely directed to that important objective," she wrote. Her demands included Mr Pesutto paying the roughly $760,000 he has raised and deferring the remainder of his debt until March 30, 2027. A special resolution would have had to be passed to endorse preselection for her upper house seat so she could "enjoy the right to serve my community without any internal distractions which is something denied me to date". She also requested the party, through Mr Battin, pen an unreserved written and public apology to her and appoint of an independent person from outside the state to review internal dispute resolution mechanisms. The offer was non-negotiable and expired at 5pm on Tuesday after the parties were unable to agree. "I have suffered through a gruelling two and half years where almost every offer I made to negotiate a settlement was rejected," she wrote. "This is my final attempt to spare the Liberal Party further harm and to afford Mr Pesutto, and his family, the dignity that was denied to me, my husband and my children." One senior Liberal told AAP it was "outrageous" to attempt to use the pair's long-running dispute to secure preselection. Liberal preselection is traditionally completed through a vote of rank-and-file members, with the process for the next state election in November 2026 expected to begin from September. AAP has also been told the money raised by Mr Pesutto was conditional on the party lending him the rest, about $1.5 million, which he has vowed to pay back with interest. The party's administrative committee is expected to meet to discuss Mr Pesutto's request on June 19. Mrs Deeming and Mr Pesutto were contacted for comment.

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