Annastacia Palaszczuk wants ‘national policy’ on school phone ban

The Queensland Premier says she is open to enforcing a ban in line with other states, if a national policy is introduced.

Annastacia Palaszczuk wants a national policy on mobile phone use in schools and says she is open to enforcing a ban in line with other states.

Phones are already prohibited in public high schools in most Australian jurisdictions, with NSW set to extend its ban from primary to secondary schools in October

The Queensland Premier on Thursday said most principals in her state already banned phones in the classroom. “I think there needs to be national consistency and that is exactly what the minister is going to raise with the federal minister today,” she said.

“If we can have a national policy on this, of course Queensland will step up to the plate.”

State Education Minister Grace Grace was due to meet her federal counterpart, Jason Clare, in Brisbane on Thursday evening.

Policies differ between states, with some jurisdictions banning phones altogether and others allowing them if they are switched-off and stored during school hours.

The just elected NSW Labor government made a pre-election commitment to ban phones in high schools from term four.

Ms Palaszczuk’s comments follow a series of school fights videoed and promoted on social media. In March, distressing footage was uploaded to social media of a 13-year-old girl being allegedly tortured by three other girls, aged 12 to 14, on the Sunshine Coast.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was time for “fresh eyes and a fresh look” at the issue. “Let’s remember that the distribution and Snapchats and everything else that happens in between on these phones is not just happening during school classroom hours,” she said.

“A lot of this is taking place after hours and it’s having a detrimental impact on a lot of our young people.”

Ms Palaszczuk set-up an anti-bullying taskforce in 2018 after Dolly Everett, 14, died by suicide following relentless bullying from peers at school and online.

Ms Grace previously said the state would not ban phones at school because it was not recommended by the taskforce.