Development objection

The Development proposal does not provide safeguards to those for whom we have a high level of
duty of care:
A significant safety concern results from the risks posed by certain types of individual often attracted by
service stations and who would not otherwise have reason to be near our school grounds or within close
proximity to the school and it’s sports amenities. Unsavoury, simply curious and unwanted members of
the public can wander through the school property during or after school hours as a spill over from the
proposed service station. At very least this activity is disruptive and inappropriate for children, at worst
these unwelcome visitors may cause harm through criminal and unlawful activity. Unwanted people
walking around the school during break-times will be extremely difficult for the school to manage and
monitor. Students enjoy some freedom of movement in their designated recess areas. School staff
already has a high level of responsibility overseeing students during these times.

The school swimming pools have changing areas that are exposed and easily accessed by unwanted
members of the public, posing a threat to the safety of children who have, to date enjoyed a peaceful,
safe space to shower, change and relax before or after swimming classes. The changing areas serving
the school swimming pools and Health and Physical Education Centre remain open from 5 am to 7 pm
open so that children can make use of these facilities. They are within very close proximity to the pools
and sports complex. These are extremely high-risk areas in terms of vulnerability and exposure as
children are showering, changing and naturally focused on their sports activities.

It is unthinkable to put children at risk of being interfered with, abused or abducted because of the close
proximity of the service station and the threats posed to their privacy and entitlement to safe, secure
facilities. The changing facilities and showers are currently unsupervised as well as unlocked. The safety
issue would warrant these spaces to be policed at all times throughout the day – from 5 am to 5.30 pm
daily. The toilet facilities for students and staff of GSLC remain open during the day for use as required.
Unwanted trespassers from the proposed service station could easily access these essential facilities,
which makes our children and school staff easy targets and unnecessarily vulnerable to aberrant abuses,
attacks and criminal activity.

Temptation for children to duck out of school and purchase food and drink, to play truant and to
innocently and unwittingly expose themselves to the raft of dangers as mentioned above, posed by
accessibility to a retail outlet and random members of the public frequenting the service station.

Queensland is far from immune to the Australia wide drug supply and trafficking problem. Such close
proximity of a service station, with open public access could make our children an easy target for drug
supply and trafficking.

The service station is not wanted near our students who would be made vulnerable by easy access. This
issue can be avoided by rejecting the proposal for the service station in such close proximity to the
school.

Children and GSLC teachers will be exposed to the increased risk of fire, which can be triggered as easily
as by dropping a mobile phone. Shell Australia Health and Safety documentation says: “Dropping a
mobile phone or switching it on or off can cause sparks, which may ignite petrol vapours”.




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