Northland machete brawlers should be kicked out of school, government says
Two boys allegedly involved in last month's machete brawl at Northland shopping centre should be expelled from school using upcoming expanded principal powers, the Victorian government has said.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said he would expect the two school-aged boys accused of participating in the brawl that terrified Sunday-afternoon shoppers at the popular retail centre to suffer serious consequences from their schools.
Carroll announced the upgraded powers for state schools to punish off-campus behaviour that puts students or teachers at serious risk – such as online bullying – on Wednesday morning, saying the change had been introduced successfully in other states.
But principals warned the government to 'proceed with caution' before granting the new powers from next month.
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The principals' peak body told the Department of Education that parents would expect school leaders to act like law enforcement officials when they are granted the expanded powers, aimed predominantly at online misconduct that has an adverse affect in the classroom or playground.
Australian Principals Federation president Tina King said the profession had been blindsided on Wednesday morning when Carroll announced the changes.
A school community in Melbourne's west was left reeling last week when footage was widely circulated online showing students allegedly attacking other children with a machete in the toilets of a local McDonald's. It is unclear if the new powers for principals would apply in those circumstances.
Carroll says the new powers are based on similar arrangements in NSW and South Australia, where principals can suspend or expel students for out-of-school conduct.
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The Advertiser
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