Tasmanian school hires security after Premier's Christmas post fuels backlash
A school that renamed its event inclusively faced harassment and hired security after the Premier's criticism.
A northern Tasmanian school renamed its annual event from Christmas on the Hill to Holiday on the Hill to be more inclusive. The school faced online and phone harassment and had to hire security.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff posted on Facebook claiming people were trying to remove all Christmas references from end-of-year school celebrations. He did not name the school.
The education department disagreed with him. It said the school's event would still include class performances, Christmas carols, and a visit from Santa, consistent with past years.
Staff suffered from the backlash. Shadow Health Minister Sarah Lovell said the Premier let down the school and should apologise.
Rockliff refused to apologise. He said he stood by his comments as a leader entitled to share his views.
He condemned attacks on people but said he cannot control what people say in response to his opinion.
- Northern Tasmania
- School location
- Beginning of term four
- Security deployed
Why it mattersThe incident shows how political leaders who amplify a story can trigger real harassment of schools and teachers trying to broaden inclusion.
AustraliaA Tasmanian school community is managing security costs and staff stress from online abuse triggered by a senior government official.
Corroborated bytheadvocate.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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