Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I congratulate the member for Cowan for bringing this important issue to the parliament. I am going to address the issue from the perspective of spinal care for young people and the need to ensure that proper spinal care is in place and that young people understand the issues surrounding it. One of those issues is the fact that carrying heavy schoolbags does put a strain on a young person's spine. It was very interesting to hear the member for Cowan mention wheelie bags. That would be an ideal solution. When I set up my mobile offices shopping centres I always use a wheelie bag because it is a lot easier to carry material. The member for Cowan also talked about replacing hard-copy reference books with CDs or thumb drives and limiting the loads that young people are carrying. That is a very desirable approach but it also comes with some risks. I will highlight that in my contribution to this debate. I was horrified when I heard him say that they weighed a bag that was 7.5 kilograms, since the recommended weights for bags are 3.9 kilos for 12- to 13-year olds, 4.3 kilos for 14- to 15-year-olds and 4.8 kilos for 16- to 17-year-olds. That just shows the amounts of textbooks and resources that young people are forced to carry these days.

Of course it is very important that school bags be carried properly. Both shoulders of the backpack should be put on, and young people should be encouraged to remove their backpacks when they are standing around. If you look at some high school students you will find that they tend to slip their bag over one shoulder. That is doing great damage to their spine. It is very important that the load be evenly dispersed, as has already been mentioned. Students should not ride bicycles when they are carrying a backpack. That is quite dangerous, though it is quite common. Again, it is very important that those backpacks are not overloaded. If young people are regularly carrying laptops, they should be encouraged to check the weight of that laptop. If you have a laptop along with reference material it can make the backpack even heavier. And if you have a laptop you should be carrying it close to your back.

Computing itself raises some issues around spinal care in young people, different to load carrying. It also raises the issue of spending a long time in front of computers. Workplaces ensure that they are ergonomically designed for people. The computer should be in the right place, the screen should be at eye level and approximately 50 to 60 centimetres from their eyes. They should be encouraged to work away from the computer for periods of time.

On one hand you have got the issue of carrying heavy books and, on the other hand, you have got young people spending an inordinate amount of time in front of computers. Our students, our young people, should be made aware that there are risks associated with both. There should be a five-minute break after every hour in front of a computer and a five-minute break after every 30 minutes in front of a laptop. Prolonged use of laptops is not ideal for spinal health of young students. Using laptops for extended periods can cause problems, including visual problems.

So I think it is really important that we look at the whole issue of spinal care in young people. It is important that we look not only at lessening the load but also ensuring that computer use is undertaken appropriately.

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