Sydney MP Jordan Lane Proposes A 6pm School Pick Up

Jordan Lane, a New South Wales state MP, has proposed a 6 pm school pick-up to ease the stress for working mums.

The 28-year-old was newly elected as the MP for Ryde in March, and he used his maiden speech on Tuesday to call for school hours to be extended to 6 pm.

Mr Lane argued that the 9 am to 3 pm schedule was a “relic of a sexist, bygone era”.

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“It is a relic of a sexist, bygone era when society assumed women stayed at home and were responsible for the school pick-up,” Mr Lane said.

He said that the traditional model of school hours was established in the 1950s, while the school system in the 2050s should look different.

“No longer can we get by with a system that was structured in an era when women did not work, and households were comfortably sustained on a single income,” 

“Local schools should become hubs for after-school activity where the government guarantees that a child should remain on school campuses until 6 pm,

“It affords parents flexibility while at the same time making school a place for extracurricular excellence.”

Mr Lane said mothers should not be forced to choose between achieving their career goals or raising children.

He suggested children have a “more rounded experience” through participating in coding classes, art, music, language, sport and theatre.

“School hours are about children being able to learn and still have time to be children and relax,” he said.

“Children aren’t here to cater to our needs.”

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