The PM is sewing confusion while irresponsibly undermining the work of the states to implement a balanced & safe approach to schooling in Term 2. Appropriate distancing & precautions are not possible if high proportions of students return now.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-15/scott-morrison-asks-teachers-to-keep-schools-open-in-coronavirus/12149056 via @ABCNews

If our focus is providing the best quality education we can in the current circumstances, teachers can’t provide effective face-to-face instruction for 2/3s of students & responsive online for the other 1/3. Nor will 2/3s of students fit in a classroom with physical distancing.

This is unashamed fear mongering from the PM. Schools are already providing supervision for vulnerable children & the children of essential workers. Teachers aren’t making parents choose. The approach of the state jurisdictions was rational & clear... until muddied by the PM.

The PM’s ill-considered attempt to override the states means that schools that have been busily preparing for remote learning will not be ready to safely welcome large numbers of students at short notice. Many schools simply physically cannot.

The argument that schools are safe attempts to conflate the flawed suggestion that there is no evidence they are unsafe with positive proof they are safe. The evidence is still out. Look at the school cluster in NZ. Read the problematic & equivocal @ucl @TheLancet report.

Those arguing that it’s safe for schools to open miss the point that many parents will still keep children home, as seen last term. Teachers have made preparations to teach remotely but cannot deliver this effectively while also teaching face-to-face. You cannot do both well.