Tambo’s Ron and Michelle Hafey are typical of many bush families this week, dropping off children for a new year ahead at boarding school.
Like many, they are counting their pennies and hoping they can make ends meet for the sake of their children.
Their eldest daughter Brooke is going into Year 11 at Rockhampton Grammar School while their youngest daughter Casey is starting this year in Year 7.
The move from having one child away to two is going to test their resilience in many ways, emotionally and financially.
Not only will there be no-one at home at the end of the day, but Ron and Michelle will be noticing the difference to their bank account.
“Going from having one away to both away is a worry,” Michelle said. “We just hope we can make it work.”
The girls attended the Tambo State School for their primary education, which Michelle said offered good student-teacher ratios and more one-on-one teaching for that stage.
“Education is so important,” Michelle said. “We can’t hold them back. If we’re able to do it, we do for the sake of our children. That’s what’s getting me through.”
Without government assistance, Michelle said they would find it difficult to educate both daughters.
“It would make a difference to when we send Casey away,” she said. “Without assistance , we would have had to leave it to Year 10 for her, when Brooke would have finished.
“She really wanted to join her sister, and Brooke will be there to support her.”
Ron manages Truno and Baneda, east of Tambo, for the Usher Pastoral Co and to supplement their manager’s wage, Michelle owns and operates a school bus run.
This year she’ll be doing the 107km round trip morning and night without children of her own to take to school and is down to nine paying customers, from a full bus of 13 at the start of last year.
“No family is projected to leave at this stage but you never know,” Michelle said.
She has also been able to secure employment at the revitalised Tambo Teddies enterprise, in customer service and cutting out roles, two days a week.
“Boarding seems to be the predominant choice for children here in Year 11 but some families have left town. Not everyone can afford it,” Michelle said.
According to Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association vice president Louise Martin, although there has been some relief from the drought with a break in the season for some, the drought is by no means over and families were continuing to struggle to find the funds to educate children at boarding school.
“ICPA Qld continues to lobby for an education subsidy to be included in the Drought Relief Assistance Scheme, in addition to the ongoing lobby for the LAFHAS to be increased to reflect actual tuition fees,” Louise said.
