The opposition is calling on the ACT government to publish the agreement struck with public school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid suspicions their union has played a "greater role" than medical experts in shaping the contentious shift to remote learning.
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Opposition Leader Alistair Coe said the Barr government had not been transparent with Canberra parents about the rationale for shutting most schools and shifting all students to online learning at the start of Term 2.
Mr Coe said the government needed to publish documents and advice it relied upon before committing to the move, which represented the most comprehensive shift to remote education made by any Australian state or territory during the coronavirus crisis.
The government's position has put it at odds with the federal government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is desperate for students to start returning to the classroom. Government and independent health experts have also repeatedly said schools were safe for students.
Among the documents sought by the opposition was the agreement struck with the Australian Education Union ACT branch late last month, which meant that any teacher could not be compelled to teach in the classroom.
Union secretary Glenn Fowler said last week teachers would have to agree to rescind the agreement before they would resume face-to-face lessons.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Tuesday the government wanted to reopen schools for classroom learning, but that it first needed to "build confidence" among teachers and parents that campuses were safe before it could do so.
Mr Coe said there was a suspicion the powerful education union had played a greater role in shaping the government's policy than medical experts.
But he said that without seeing the terms of the agreement, it was impossible to know exactly how significant it ultimately was in determining the government's position.
"The ACT government seems unwilling to produce the evidence that is informing their decisions and this leads to suspicion that there is not a good rationale for their decisions," he said.
In a statement to The Canberra Times, Mr Fowler said the union "would not apologise for working with the government to achieve the best health and safety outcomes for its members".
Mr Fowler said he was visiting the supervised schools sites to check in on safety and well-being of staff this week.
"I don't have time for student politics," he said.
"I have issued dozens of invitations to meet with Alistair Coe. He always declines."
Mr Coe said the Opposition had written to the government on numerous occasions seeking more clarity on rationale for the Term 2 arrangements - but had not received any response.
The Liberals last week called for parents to be allowed to send their child to their normal school in Term 2, rather than them be forced to attend of the nine supervised "hub" sites.