For the children and families in Australia affected by autism, life can be challenging. These challenges are met through the services provided by Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT), a not-for-profit organisation.

They have been informed that the lease for the Sydney South East School at Kirrawee will not be renewed in 2018. Consequently, they have until the start of 2018 to find land and build a new school for the 30 students who currently attend the school. The school has 5 classes of 6 students and the dedicated staff meet the significant learning needs of students with individualised learning programs. There are 200 children on the waiting list and without expansion, all 230 children will end up in local primary schools where they simply will not cope.

The cost of building a new school will be several million dollars. A recent event raised $26000 and whilst this figure is admirable, it could be run 100 times over and still not raise the funds required to relocate the school.

Government funding is the most likely solution to this issue. Land in the Sutherland Shire that was earmarked for the F6 Freeway in decades past (and is Government owned) would be perfect. With the slowness of building approvals, traffic and feasibility studies, planning for the school needs to begin ASAP. A new school is likely to take 12 months to build so construction needs to start in January 2017.

I hope this petition can 'go viral' and that we can get some mass media coverage and support for this worthy cause. It will be taken to members of parliament to provide evidence of community support for the project.

Thanks for taking the time to read and sign this petition. Please forward the link to everybody you know. Put it on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site to spread the word. Your support is appreciated.

Kind regards,

Mark Gregory

ASPECT parent