Aurukun paying guards to keep town safe

The Aurukun Shire Council is spending more than a $1 million a year on private security guards and community police in the troubled Queensland town.

And its security bill is set to rise, the council to foot an annual $150,000 bill to operate a new security camera network in the indigenous community.

Chief executive Bernie McCarthy says the council has failed to convince former and current state governments to share security-related costs.

He says it's a big issue for a council that doesn't charge general rates, and relies primarily on government grants for its revenue.

The council has been paying private security guards for at least the last five years to improve community safety and protect council property and staff.

It also employs community police to work alongside sworn officers.

"We don't receive any funding for those activities," Mr McCarthy told AAP on Friday.

"And now we're also going to be hit with the operational costs for the CCTV system."

Mr McCarthy said the state government had helped fund the camera system, but the council needed help with its ongoing security costs.

Public safety in Aurukun is back in the spotlight after 25 teachers were evacuated following an attack on the principal of the town's only school.

It's alleged he was attacked with the blunt end of an axe when he went to the aid of teaching staff who'd reported youths loitering outside their accommodation in the school compound.

Classes have resumed after all but five of the teachers returned, following a security upgrade that included better fencing and the installation of panic buttons in their compound homes.

The Queensland Teachers' Union has downplayed calls by Aurukun Mayor Dereck Walpo for full-time security guards to protect teachers.

"I hope we can positively influence behaviour in the community so that won't be necessary," union president Kevin Bates told AAP on Friday.

AAP has sought comment from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.