Palmwoods State School chaplain under fire for post on child Covid vaccinations

A Queensland public school chaplain is under fire after sharing on Facebook a letter calling for a halt to Australian children getting the Covid vaccine.

A Queensland public school chaplain has come under fire for questioning whether children should be vaccinated on a school parents Facebook group.

But the Department of Education has said since the posts were made on a private page, there was little action that could be taken.

It comes as a petition calling for the removal of taxpayer-funded chaplains from public schools draws more than 16,000 signatures.

The Courier-Mail understands a concerned parent raised the issue after Palmwoods State School chaplain Bec West posted a controversial “open letter” from “medical authorities” regarding childhood Covid vaccinations in mid-January.

The state government and the Education Minister Grace Grace have been urging parents to get their children aged 5 and over vaccinated as soon as possible. Picture: Andrej Ivanov

In the post seen by The Courier-Mail in a private parents group - which has about 300 members - Ms West writes she’s not sure if she’s “crossing a line here”, and goes on to share a letter calling for the halt of the rollout of the Covid vaccination letter to Australian children.

“I had to share, so you are informed on one of the most crucial decisions you will make for your children at this point in time,” she wrote on the Sunshine Coast school parents page.

“Please read and be informed - please don’t take this decision lightly.”

The letter contains claims about mass vaccine injuries and that Pfizer has “withheld vital information” from the Australian government on adverse reactions.

The state government and the Education Minister Grace Grace have been urging parents to get their children aged 5 and over vaccinated as soon as possible.

A Queensland public school chaplain has come under fire for questioning whether children should be vaccinated on a school parents Facebook group.

Following backlash, Ms West made another post and said she wanted to “apologise for the way some took my previous post”.

“Obviously I didn’t make it clear that I’m not trying to push an opinion, I just wanted to caution you to be informed of evidence that has only just gone public, which you may be unaware,” she wrote.

“Information which calls for the halt of the rollout of the vaccination program for children.”

While she then says she will “support you in whatever you decide”, she again says she is “happy to share the new information” and relinks the letter to a commenter.

The Palmwoods State School website says Ms Woods works at the school two days per week, and that the service is “funded entirely by the Federal Government funding”.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said the post made was on a private page and while the department does not control the page, it “does not endorse the views expressed in the post”.

“The department has an expectation chaplains will adhere to the Chaplaincy and student welfare worker services policy statement and associated guidelines,” he said.

“Under this policy, Principals have the discretion to take action in certain circumstances if the conduct of Chaplains does not meet the standards expected.

“We encourage parents to contact their school if they have these concerns.”

The spokesman went on to say unvaccinated staff and volunteers were not allowed on school sites, and that the department encouraged all eligible people to be vaccinated and boosted as soon as they can.

Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools spokeswoman Alison Courtice said there were multiple instances of parents raising concerns about the views expressed by chaplains, and they strongly supported the push for the $60 million in annual federal funding to be spent on youth social workers, no faith-based social workers.

“Over the years, numerous concerns have been raised about the lack of oversight of the National School Chaplaincy program and chaplains using their roles to proselytise or share views that are out of step with the school communities they work in,” she said.

“We support the online petition, set up by parents in recent weeks, calling for the next federal government to fund suitably qualified youth workers, instead of faith workers, in our public schools.

“No staff member working in a state school should have to be religious to get their job.

“The failure to employ support workers on merit alone gives lie to the claim that the best interests of children is the priority of the chaplaincy program.”