The last 3 years at Marist College Ashgrove have seen significant cultural changes and the departure of an alarming number of experienced staff. This has caused ongoing disruption to the education of the students. These concerns have now been aggravated by the revelation that the Head of College, Mr Michael Newman, is the subject of unresolved allegations of historical child sexual abuse in civil proceedings in NSW.

The return of Mr Newman as Head of College has caused considerable concern and distress. Requests for action have previously been made directly to Marist Schools Association by members of the Marist Ashgrove Community. The response has been disappointing. Those attempts have not led to a resolution and have resulted in this petition being put to the wider community.

We remain deeply concerned about the unresolved allegations and the impact of Mr Newman's return. Furthermore, and importantly, having a leader who is the subject of such serious allegations can create an unstable environment for students. We sincerely believe it is not in the best interests of students, staff, and the wider Marist School Community for Mr Newman to continue in this position while the allegations remain unresolved. We request Mr Newman be stood down from the position of Head of College and allocated a separate role within Marist Schools Australia until the Court proceedings have been finalised. 

Therefore, as a result of Marist Schools Australia failure to implement appropriate steps in response to concerns raised and Mr Newman remaining in his role, we call upon all stakeholders - parents, guardians, teachers, and alumni - to express a vote of no confidence in Mr Newman's leadership at Marist College Ashgrove. 

Please sign this petition if you share these concerns about Mr Newman’s present position as Head of College at Marist College Ashgrove. We confirm we seek nothing more than for him to stand down and move to a non-leadership, non-student-facing role until the outstanding sexual abuse allegations have been resolved.