Aussie school's backflip after 'unacceptable' move in students' toilets

A Tasmanian school has been pressured into re-installing student toilets, which had been removed during the holidays in an apparent attempt to combat misbehaviour, including smoking and vaping.

The move to take out cubicle doors and most toilets from New Norfolk High School sparked a furore last week and prompted outraged parents to start a petition against what they deemed a "massive violation of human rights", receiving over 450 signatures.

The petition stated that students were being made to queue for "anywhere up to 30 minutes" to access a toilet, with parents demanding that their children have access to toilets "in a timely manner, due to general use, sickness, health conditions" and argued pupils should not be "penalised and made to line up to one cubicle in an attempt to curb bad behaviour of a minority".

Mayor joins fight to reinstate toilets

Following complaints from a number of community members, Derwent Valley Council mayor Michelle Dracoulis joined the fight to reinstall the toilets, calling the decision "unacceptable". She shared video from inside a toilet block at New Norfolk High School to her Facebook page that showed toilets had been taken out of all but one cubicle and all the internal doors had been removed.

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"Our kids have a human right to access bathroom facilities when they need them," Ms Dracoukis stated. "I understand there will be reasons the school has taken this step, but there needs to be another way found to address those issues."

The video was shared across social media, attracting criticism from parents who branded the removal of toilets and cubicle doors as "ridiculous" and "worse than prison". One viewer described the scenes as "absolutely disgraceful and against all human rights".

School reverses decision

In an update to her post, Ms Dracoulis revealed she'd received the welcome news that the school's toilets will be reinstated. A spokesperson for the Department of Education also issued a statement to local media confirming that they're working with the school to "increase access to student toilets by Tuesday" following a public holiday on Monday.

"The Department has closely monitored operations at the school today and will continue to do so until the situation is rectified," the statement continued. "The Department apologises to the students and families of New Norfolk High School."

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