Colouring-in posters by Year 1 children slammed by One Nation MP Mark Latham

Mark Latham has slammed colouring-in posters done by Year 1 pupils accusing Australians of genocide, as ‘indoctrination’ and ‘propaganda’.

The posters were part of the Indigenous culture NAIDOC Week at a primary school in central west New South Wales and displayed in the school hall. 

They show raised fists and say: ‘White Australia has a Blak History, No Pride in Genocide, Stop the Lies! Stop Stealing Our Kids, Blak Lives Matter!’ 

‘I just think it’s wrong to be teaching six-year-olds to hate Australia,’ the One Nation MP in the NSW upper house told Daily Mail Australia. 

The content of the posters led to a complaint by a concerned father. 

‘He’s very upset that his six-year-old has been subjected to this, and I don’t blame him,’ said Mr Latham. 

‘I think any responsible parent would think this is way over the top.’

Though the issue has so far only been reported in one school, Mr Latham thinks it could be a widespread issue across the state.  

‘It’s come to public light because the child took the colourings home, so these are parents that got to see the material,’ he said. 

‘I’m sure in other schools it’s been distributed but didn’t necessarily make it home. It’s a worry that any of this stuff gets into our school system for children so young.’ 

Mr Latham strongly objects to the content of the exercise. ‘There’s no historical evidence that we had a policy of genocide … in Australian colonial history,’ he claimed.

‘For six-year-olds, can we just give them a break from the political indoctrination.

The One Nation leader in NSW, who is a former leader of the Labor Party, said the posters are ‘inappropriate’ for children so young. 

‘Would a six-year-old understand what genocide is … it’s indoctrination and propaganda,’ he said.

‘These are adult concepts that you might consider in the senior years of high school, but for six-year-olds it’s just appalling.’

Mr Latham said Australia has a lot to be proud of and there should be a balanced approach to ‘promote achievements and build pride in our country’. 

‘Why would we want an education system that’s got children being told to hate Australia. I just find it disgusting.

‘I don’t think that’s the purpose of our education system, to run Australia down and tell lies about our history.’

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said it is her ‘expectation that all schools use age-appropriate resources when teaching’.

But Mr Latham dismissed this as meaningless.  

‘That’s a motherhood statement, without any direct condemnation of what’s happened, but I’ll be raising it at the budget estimates hearings (in the NSW Parliament) next Tuesday,’ he said.

‘This material should never have been distributed, it should never have been used as a colouring-in project for six-year-olds and it should never happen again.’

A NSW Department of Education spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the school concerned received one parental complaint which was responded to on the same day.

‘The NAIDOC poster in question … is available for all schools to use as part of their NAIDOC Week celebrations,’ they said. 

‘We provide Aboriginal cultural education for all staff, and education about Aboriginal Australia for all students.’