Glenn Posford,the general manager of the Winmalee Christian Conference Centre,near the Blue Mountains,said it had been closed for about six months forcing him to shed 10 of his 18 staff. The centre is highly dependent on public school students.
“All of my income has been through government grants or donations,” he said. “We are struggling because the grants are drying up as well.”
Ray Hampton who has been working as a conductor in school bands for 30 years said it seemed inconsistent students were allowed to play sport,but not allowed to play wind instruments. He said music teachers had been stood down and some were “walking away” because there was no sign they could return to work.
“Public health orders allow community bands to operate,but the Department of Education has chosen to keep us out with no pathway back and allow sports back in,” he said.
“When you consider that children playing sport are all over each other and students playing instruments are socially distanced and worked in separate year groups last year,the settings don’t make sense.”
Lori Modde,chief executive of Outdoors NSW and ACT,which represents the outdoor education industry,said it was dependent on students. Public school students were not allowed to attend overnight camps and private schools were often guided by public school policy.
“So it is restricting a lot of them too,” she said. “Scout camps started last weekend and can happen according to the public health orders.