Tuesday, 2 August 2022

 Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (19:00): (6456) I rise tonight to demand that the Minister for Education instructs the Department of Education and Training to rescind its letter expecting students from year 3 onwards to wear a mask in school. This expectation is overly burdensome on a cohort that is at least risk from COVID and who have suffered enormously over the last 2½ years. I have received numerous copies of texts sent to Shadow Pandemic Victoria from distraught parents on the level of distress the mask expectations are causing our students. Students are being made to feel that it is up to them to protect the health system and worry that if they do not wear a mask, they might end up in lockdown again. One parent texted:

My 7 year old has started waking up in the middle of the night with lots of irrational fears and worries. She is crying on the way to school saying she feels like a naughty child because—

at seven years of age—

she doesn’t wear a mask …

What are we doing to our children? Since when has it ever been up to our children to protect our health system? They are children. Why are we burdening students with mask expectations when studies from Finland, the UK, the US and Spain into masks in schools have shown that there is no evidence that masking reduces the spread of COVID? But there is one conclusive thing from mask studies in the UK —94 per cent of teachers and 80 per cent of students responded saying that masking compromises learning. Our children have suffered so greatly, and it is time for them to go to school unburdened. It is time to prioritise our children’s academic, social and mental health needs. It is time to end the mask expectation in schools. Again, the action I seek is that the minister instructs the department of education to rescind its letter expecting students from year 3 onwards to wear a mask in school.