Unhappy meals. (Education).

In New South Wales, teachers have criticised the Education Minister, John Aquilina, for allowing McDonald's, a fast-food chain of franchises, to have access to schools through free meals, vouchers and fund-raising incentives for parents. The president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Sue Simpson, confirmed that the practice was widespread in schools and said McDonald's was exploiting vulnerable students in disadvantaged areas where cash-strapped schools struggled to raise funds.

In an editorial, The Sydney Morning Herald questioned whether `children should be offered as a captive market in exchange for additional school funds.' It noted that large corporations were already bypassing existing guidelines on school sponsorship by targeting individual parents and citizens' associations that were not restricted by Education Department regulations. `The State Government must move to stop this abuse of process. Parents run P&Cs. They should use them to scrutinise their schools' fundraising practices and choose options which reflect their values and their children's best interests' (Sydney Morning Herald, 2/8/01, p.5 & Editorial, p.10).