The following residents of the ACT draw to the attention of the Assembly: since the ACT Government announced the plans to return to schools, free Rapid Antigen Tests have been offered to students and teachers in public and private schools. This ensures that schools are able to detect and isolate positive cases before this affects large numbers of people.
Conversely, ACT’s 46 Community Language Schools, servicing over 2 000 students and run by more than 300 volunteer staff, have not been given free access to RATs. This is putting a further financial burden on our already overstretched and under resourced schools.
Without access to free tests, the Community Language Schools will not be able to offer a safe working place for volunteers. Further, we are likely to be affected by severe staff shortages and be forced to close or stop our classes, which offer a critical community service to Canberra’s migrant and refugee communities.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call upon the Government to supply all teachers of Canberra’s Community Language Schools with free Rapid Antigen Tests, commensurate with the supply given to public school teachers.