Sunrise host Nar Barr has slammed a decision to ban a lollipop man from high-fiving schoolchildren as ‘un-n’ during a fiery rant.
John Goulden, a crossing supervisor for Mount Dandenong Primary School, was reprimanded by Victoria’s Yarra Ranges Council after just one parent complained.
The beloved lollipop man had been high-fiving students for four years before he was told he would need to comply with the council’s code of conduct rules.
‘It’s totally ridiculous,’ a fired-up Barr said of the decision on Thursday.
‘Yarra Ranges Council you should be ashamed of yourself. Why does one person get to say what everyone does in the whole community?
‘One lollipop man fist-bumping kids, what has happened to ?
‘For god sake, if you are from Yarra Ranges Council phone us, or we’re phoning you.
‘This is not . Absolutely ridiculous.’
Co-presenter Monique Wright added that it ‘just took one Karen to ruin everyone’s fun’.
‘If it was a Karen or a Ken we are onto them this morning,’ Barr agreed.
Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas told Sunrise that 99.9 per cent of ns would praise Mr Goulden for doing ‘exactly what we want our seniors to do’.
‘Your out there making a contribution, your out there making our kids feel safe, your making them feel welcome with a high-five for goodness sake,’ he said.
‘Common sense has to reclaim it’s ground and this would be a very good first step, to have this thrown out and reversed. How ridiculous.’
‘You do wonder, who at Yarra Ranges Council said ‘Ok we’ve got a complaint, we’ve got to address it’,’ Barr replied.
She asked Melbourne broadcaster Neil Mitchell if he thought there was a child safety concern with allowing the high-fives to continue.
‘They should reconsider and they will reconsider. There’s already 800 signatures on the petition and that will grow with this exposure,’ he said.
‘I’ve had a look, there are 36 pages of instructions from VicRoads to the traffic supervisors. They’re not allowed to vape, they’re not allowed to smoke, they’re not allowed to read newspapers, they’re not allowed a mobile phone, they’re not allowed to knit, but there is nothing there about high fiving.
‘And he says he’s been told off for calling the kids ‘sweetheart’. We’re worried about kids’ mental health. He’s doing exactly what he should.
‘He’s engaging with them. He’s welcoming them.’
The Yarra Ranges Council said the parent who made the complaint was concerned Mr Goulden’s high-fives were a threat to student safety.
‘Council has reminded the contractor who is currently supervising children at the Mount Dandenong Primary School of expectations of the role regarding interactions with children,’ the council said in a statement.
Angry parents have rallied behind Mr Goulden and launched an online petition so that he can continue to high-five students.
Organiser and parent at the school Rohan Bradley plans to take the petition to the council in the hopes they will reverse the decision.
‘I was very happy to get behind this and encourage people to speak up because (the ban) felt like an injustice to the community,’ he told the Herald Sun.
As of Thursday morning, the petition had garnered almost 1,200 signatures online as well as 45 signatures from students and staff at the school.
‘John’s friendly high-fives are indeed a form of such positive social interaction, aiding in improving child mental health in our community,’ Mr Bradley wrote.
‘His high fives in the morning and afternoon have become a tradition that many children look forward to. A small gesture that symbolises the warmth and friendliness of our unique community.’