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MP lashed on Facebook after asking whether teachers were back at work

Felicity Caldwell

A federal politician has incited a backlash on social media after questioning whether teachers were at work this week.

Federal member for Bowman Andrew Laming, who represents an electorate on Brisbane's bayside, questioned whether teachers had returned to work yet.

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Laming a 'big bully' to teachers

A Facebook post by federal Brisbane MP Andrew Laming questions whether teachers are at work or 'lesson planning' from home. Vision: Channel Seven

He wrote: "Are teachers back at work this week, or are they 'lesson planning' from home? Let me know exactly."

The comment received a backlash online, with hundreds of comments and 120 shares.

Facebook user Malcolm Grant shot back: "Is parliament in session or are you 'working in the electorate'?"

Another user, Kj Wilo, said he was astounded by the amount of unpaid overtime teachers performed.

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"Not to mention the resources they have to buy if they want to do a half decent job and actually make school interesting for the kids," he wrote.

Kylee Chook said: "Why is 'lesson planning' written [in] inverted commas? Are you insinuating it doesn't exist? Do you know how many hours of our own time goes into planning and preparation for things that generally have to be done but also for the things that are done out of our own sense of professionalism or love for our students...?"

A screenshot of Andrew Laming's post asking if teachers had returned to work yet.

A screenshot of Andrew Laming's post asking if teachers had returned to work yet. Photo: Supplied

Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones said she was sick of teachers being used as punching bags, labelling the comments as a "cheap shot".

"Clearly Andrew Laming hasn't spent any time in a classroom lately," Ms Jones said.

"I visit schools all the time and see firsthand how hard our teachers work.

"I wish all teachers the best as they work hard and prepare for the start of the school year."

The post has since been deleted, with Mr Laming posting a story about self-care and avoiding teacher burnout.

In December, Mr Laming also asked on Facebook: "Any reason why teachers are paid less than nurses; and early educators less than both?"

Mr Laming also spent a Saturday warring against a Facebook page titled "The Simpsons against the Liberals' Facebook page" in December, prompting even more memes targeting him.

The MP created a list of tips for members on how to interact with voters on Twitter and Facebook in 2011, including how to deal with "problematic constituents".

His tips said Facebook wall comments that were overly aggressive towards the politician or candidate should be deleted and responded to calmly via private messaging.

He also suggested politicians respond to insulting and personal comments via the inbox. The advice was aimed to avoiding having the argument on the public wall.

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