AFTER yet another letter from Adrian Piccoli refusing to allow Auriel Steiner start-up to bid for the Byabarra School premises when they come up for auction in April, I want to know why Andrew Stoner is not actively engaged in educating Adrian Piccoli about how this potential purchase could reinvigorate remote rural areas in his electorate of Oxley.
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Rural communities are dying as educational and employment opportunities are all on the coastal fringe together with the cheap food from the duopoly.
Our beautiful Hastings Hinterland is in trouble with shops closing left and right and businesses struggling to pay rents which don't reflect the trade. Anything which can inject new life into these areas should be welcomed with open arms.
A Steiner School in this area (or any area) is always a draw card for young families and siting it in a rural area like Byabarra will be a real attraction and breathe new life into our hinterland.
Steiner Schools offer an immersive, creative education, instigating a lifelong love of learning and fostering intelligence without recourse to NAPLAN or other linear testing, and offering an environment of beauty and spirit where children are taught to respect others and the natural environment and to become the very best individuals they can be.
Byabarra's beautiful rural environment would be perfect! The Education Department via Mark Youngblutt states that a Steiner School at Byabarra could compromise Comboyne Public School's precarious numbers but to date no Comboyne families have demonstrated an interest in Steiner Education.
We have been working on setting up this school for 4 years and we are in touch with most of the families currently in this area who are committed to Steiner Education for their children.
We are not interested in compromising Comboyne's Public School student numbers, we are excited about offering holistic education which celebrates and unites rural communities and brings people back into regional areas.
Comboyne is my local community and we are passionate about protecting it. This is not about detracting or spoiling, it is about adding and enriching rural areas and lifestyles.
Stoner is letting this area and his constituents down by not actively engaging with the Education Department on our behalf.
Everyone we speak to in the Hastings area agrees that our purchase of Byabarra School is a no-brainer - a sensible solution both for the site, our Steiner start-up and the wider community.
We have over 600 signatures on our petition and we are now talking to The Greens and NSW Labor about tabling the petition in the Parliament to force a reasoned debate and sensible decision making.
Sophie Love
Tom's Creek
