The Tasmanian Government has apologised to the families affected by the Hillcrest jumping castle tragedy following the release of a Netflix series depicting a similar incident.
Six children lost their lives in the December 2021 incident at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff acknowledged in state parliament on Tuesday that the government should have acted more promptly in informing the affected families about the show ‘The Accident’.
As first reported by Pulse, the Mexican drama series, which Netflix insists is entirely fictional, was met with criticism and accusations of insensitivity upon its release in August.
“I recognise that it was far too long between communications and I have spoken with the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet about this matter,” Rockliff said.
“The department, as I understand, has apologised for not communicating with families in relation to the recent documentary, which we unfortunately had no prior knowledge of.”
Independent MP Miriam Beswick said it took nine days from when the program first began to cause distress on social media for an email to be sent to the families.
“It was not until I raised the issue with the Minister for Education that an email was sent via the communication register that rightly mentioned the distasteful Netflix series depicting a jumping castle disaster,” she said.
Rockliff agreed with Beswick’s assessment.
“I’m sure all members would agree with the sentiments that many have expressed, including no doubt yourself, privately, Ms Beswick, with respect to the impact of that documentary and the massive insensitivity that was on display there.”
“That is enormously regretful, frankly and Netflix should apologise to the community.”
