Sydney high school was kept OPEN despite asbestos being uncovered on site
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Sydney secondary school remained OPEN despite asbestos being discovered: ‘Students were put at risk’
- A parliamentary inquiry looked at the presence of asbestos in a secondary school in NSW
- Asbestos was reportedly found six years ago on the grounds of Castle Hill High
- Investigation has heard students ‘endangered’ because of asbestos cover-up
- Students, parents and teachers are invited to submit comments on the survey
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Students at a Sydney secondary school have been ‘endangered’ over what a parliamentary inquiry found was an on-campus asbestos anesthetic.
The NSW House of Lords Inquiry on Monday examined the presence of asbestos at Castle Hill High School, inviting members of the school community, including teachers, parents and students, to submit entries.
The investigation into the north-west Sydney school comes six years after the potentially deadly material was reportedly found on the property.
It comes after Castle Hill MP Ray Williams told parliament earlier this year that in 2016 the school community was told an asbestos test was negative when in fact it was positive – a hidden outcome that had put thousands of people at risk.
A NSW upper house parliamentary inquiry has examined the presence of asbestos at Castle Hill High School (pictured) with students, parents and teachers invited to submit entries
In his evidence accompanying the inquiry, Mr Williams said he hoped the inquiry “will ensure that the future health and well-being of all students is not endangered, as I believe it was at one of my schools, which is Castle Hill High.” School’.
But he defended former principal Vicki Brewer, saying he had known her for more than a decade and considered her “excellent” and respected by faculty and students.
“The academic performance of that particular school speaks volumes about its ability as a principal,” he told the study.
Earlier, teachers Shane Stubbs and John Connell spoke of their experience at the school, with Mr Connell testifying that classes continued despite asbestos being found in the ceilings.
Mr Connell said that, unlike an earlier asbestos incident at Beverley Hills Girls High School in 1993 that closed that school, a decision was made to remedy the situation at Castle Hill “and keep the school running” .
“There’s nowhere left to send the kids to Castle Hill High, all the other surrounding schools are full too,” he said.
Mr Connell testified that “a whole host of executives had been briefed on the matter” and said he “never thought of the concept that they actually did a test and it came back positive, then told us it was negative.”
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation MP Mark Latham wondered why the former principal had kept in charge “and how the school was still open”.
The potentially deadly material was reportedly found on the school grounds six years ago (pictured, stock image of fibers from the mineral chrysotile asbestos in tweezers)
Labor’s Anthony D’Adam pointed to “systemic flaws” and “fundamental cultural problems” at the school.
“(It’s) around school principals being incentivized to end problems brewing in schools,” he said, calling schools a “black box” and school principals the “choking point” on information flows.
Labor MP Courtney Houssos described the teachers’ evidence as “shocking”.
“I think the scale of the cover-up has been deeply, deeply disturbing and I thank you for your candid testimony,” she said.
Leanne Nixon, deputy secretary of the Department of Education, said in her evidence that asbestos levels at the site were now safe and supported the actions of the department official charged with investigating asbestos issues there.
“I’d just go back to…the person in charge of a workplace health and safety site is the originator,” said Ms. Nixon.