General News
19 December, 2025
Crossing troubles unaddressed
Despite closure looming over the Dunolly School Crossing since July, Central Goldfields Shire Council contacted State Government to help save it in November.
Despite knowing in July that the Dunolly School Crossing faced closure, Central Goldfields Shire Council advocated to State Government on November 17.
Today is the final day the Dunolly School Crossing on Elgin Street will have a supervisor due to a lack of funding.
The news has left the Dunolly Primary School’s community scrambling to see the service continue to keep students safe.
Central Goldfields Shire Council said they can’t afford the service without State Government subsidies which the crossing is too small to qualify for.
Central Goldfields Shire CEO Peter Harriott previously said they’re calling on State Government to review their funding model for school crossing supervisors so the service can continue.
However, The Maryborough District Advertiser can reveal council sent advocacy letters to State Government on November 17, the same day the primary school was notified of the closure.
That’s despite council originally planning to close the crossing at the end of Term Two this year according to the school crossing’s supervisor Jackie Fankhauser and Dunolly Primary School principal Katie Lovel.
Ms Fankhauser said her boss told her mid-year the crossing would be closed at the end of Term Two unless funding was found.
A couple of days before the end of term, however, she said they changed their mind.
The apparent pause in advocacy from council, according to Mr Harriott, is due to limited resources being split across many projects.
“This is the earliest I’ve been able to get to it, we’ve got to it, and now we’re having the conversation,” he said.
“Sometimes the timing doesn’t work for everybody but we’re doing the best we can and clearly focusing on a solution.”
Beyond a letter sent to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne, Member for Ripon Martha Haylett and the Department of Transport and Planning last month, it’s unclear what council has done to prevent the closure since mid-year.
According to Ms Haylett, council haven’t attempted to find a solution before deciding to close the crossing.
“The council have chosen to cut the school crossing service right at the end of the year, without attempting to seek options to save it,” she said.
“I have encouraged the council to continue the service into Term One next year until alternative arrangements can be confirmed.”
Now aware of the closure, Ms Haylett said she raised the matter directly with the Road Safety Minister who asked her department to meet with council.
Mr Harriott said council met with representatives from the Department of Transport and Planning last week.
He said council has handled the Dunolly School Crossing closure in-line with community expectations.
“We’ve got to find $3 million out of our operating budget to bring us back into surplus. We’ve got a five year adopted plan to do that,” he said.
“That’s not an easy task so every component of our operation needs to be looked at.
“We must balance our books.”
Across the state, school crossings are subsidised through the Victorian Government’s School Crossing Supervisor Program to reduce the financial burden on local councils.
However, according to Central Goldfields Shire Council, they’re paying 79 percent of the bill in the 2025/26 FY where once it was an even split.
The Dunolly Primary School crossing isn’t eligible for the subsidy due to its size.
Under the program, councils are eligible when the number of students who use the crossing (minimum of 20) multiplied by the number of vehicles in the hour (minimum of 100) exceeds 5000.
Mr Harriott previously said the Elgin Street crossing gets between zero and four students on average each day.
Last month Ms Lovel said the decision to close the crossing had left her fearing the worst.
“Children’s safety should never be against a budget line,” she said.
“My fear of having to face a child who has been hit, injured, or worse still is unimaginable.”