Queensland cuts longest remote school bus, leaving six children without daily classroom access

Queensland’s longest rural school bus, which for six years linked the remote communities of Bidunggu and Gregory with Burketown State School, has been terminated, leaving six primary pupils without daily face-to-face instruction. The service, a 240-kilometre daily round trip funded by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and run by the school, was created to improve enrolments and educational results. Over the holidays, families were told the bus would not return for term three, prompting concerns that only boarding schools or the School of the Air remain viable options.

Parents, including Natalie King and Monique Mckerrell, stress the importance of in-person schooling and are lobbying for a new school in Gregory as the town’s population has grown. The Department of Education says it is searching for qualified drivers but faces limited availability, while the transport department has yet to identify a community-based operator. No comment was received from Burketown State School.