It’s 10 words that no parent ever wants to hear from their child travelling home on a school bus: Mum, I’m scared, there’s a crazy guy on the bus.
It’s also the text message one Junee mum received from their child travelling home from school in Wagga.
At approximately 4.30pm on Friday, 19 June, emergency services were called to Byrnes Road, Junee following reports of an assault on board a school bus. At the same time, one Junee mum received a message from her 12-year-old daughter stating two adult men were fighting on the bus.
Unable to assist her daughter due to work commitments in Wagga, the mum posted a plea on social media to ensure her daughter got home safely.
“I just need to make sure she gets home safely.”
When police arrived, both men were outside of the bus, having been pulled apart by another adult passenger. The 52-year-old man was later arrested and taken to the Junee Police Station where he was charged with affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
It is alleged that the man was acting aggressively towards the female bus driver before a 61-year-old passenger allegedly interjected. Both men were involved in a fight that spilled over two school children who were seated before dropping down to the aisle. The 61-year-old was repeatedly headbutted and kicked by the 52-year-old.
The female bus driver attempted to calm the men down before police arrived.
“[My daughter] told me the bus driver did a great job at trying to stop it and calm all the children down,” the mum wrote in a later comment online.
The 61-year-old man was treated on the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being transported to Junee Hospital with a head injury.
The 52-year-old was refused bail and was remanded in custody. He will appear in Wagga Local Court on June 29.
The incident has sparked a call for student-only school buses to ensure school-aged students are not exposed to this sort of violence again.
Although there was once a public bus that travelled between Junee and Wagga, it no longer exists and the school buses allow members of the public on board.
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, says she is appalled that the incident occurred in the presence of children, compromising their safety.
“No parent should be concerned that their children’s safety is at risk when they are picked up by a school bus,” she says.
“Quite frankly, I don’t believe random members of the public should be able to jump on a rural school bus service, at least not without a police check and Working with Children’s Check (WWCC).
“I think most fair-minded people would agree with me.”
One day after the incident, Ms Cooke contacted the office of the NSW Minister for Regional Transport, and says a meeting is now being arranged to discuss how to ensure an incident, such as the one that occurred on Friday, does not happen again.
“I have also reached out to the bus operator and local schools to check on the welfare of those who witnessed the incident,” she says.
Free counselling services are available under the NSW Government’s Victims Support Scheme for anyone on the bus who witnessed the event and may be experiencing trauma.
“This is the latest in a growing list of issues concerning rural school bus operations, and I believe the NSW Government needs to overhaul the rural school bus network to ensure every student has safe, accessible transportation, regardless of their postcode,” says Ms Cooke.
Concerned parents are putting their foot down on the matter and are looking to create a petition for student-only buses in the future.
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