suggest it is offensive to say it was 'discovered'

Australian university students have been told not to use gender-specific words such as 'Mr', 'Mrs' and 'sportsmanlike' with one campus going to extreme lengths to ban the use of sarcasm.

Anything with the word 'man' or titles including 'Mrs' and Miss' are off limits at Newcastle University while students at Western Sydney University are restricted from being sarcastic, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Institute of Public Affairs research fellow Matthew Lesh said policies restricting certain words or behaviour have led to many students being accused of sexism or frowned upon for their political views.

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Anything with the word 'man' or gender-specific terms 'Mrs' and Miss' are off limits at Newcastle University

Western Sydney University has gone to extreme lengths by banning their students from the use of sarcasm

'We need to have a public debate about this. Universities depend on free and open intellectual debate,' Mr Lesh told the newspaper.

'It is impossible to develop and discuss ideas in an atmosphere where certain concepts are restricted.'

The revelation comes after it was reported that students were being taught to refer to Australia as having been 'invaded' by the British rather than discovered or settled as history books have commonly suggested.

Teaching guidelines for universities across the country suggest it is 'incorrect' to say Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia and inappropriate to say Aborigines have lived here for 40,000 years.

According to a Diversity Toolkit on Indigenous terminology for the University of NSW, it is more appropriate to say the country was invaded or occupied.

Teaching guidelines for universities across the country suggest it is 'incorrect' to say Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia and is more appropriate to use words like invasion, colonisation or occupation

'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were in Australia long before Captain Cook arrived; hence it was impossible for Cook to be the first person to 'discover' Australia,' the guidelines state.

'Australia was not settled peacefully, it was invaded, occupied and colonised. Describing the arrival of the Europeans as a 'settlement' attempts to view Australian history from the shores of England rather than the shores of Australia.'

The guidelines also state that suggesting Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for 40,000 years 'puts a limit on the occupation of Australia'.

Instead, it is more appropriate to refer to it as 'since the beginning of the Dreaming' because it reflects the beliefs of any Indigenous people that they have always been in Australia.

WHAT THEY SAY IS INAPPROPRIATE Aborigines or Aboriginal Captain Cook 'discovered' Australia Australia was settled Aboriginal people have been here for 40,000 years Australian history Advertisement

WHAT YOU SHOULD SAY INSTEAD Aboriginal people or Aboriginal person He was the first Englishman to map east coast Australia was invaded or occupied They have been here since the beginning of the Dreamings Pre-invasion history or post-invasion history Advertisement





Guidelines also suggest is it inappropriate to say Aboriginals have lived here for 40,000 years because it 'puts a limit on the occupation of Australia'. It is more appropriate to say 'since the beginning of the Dreaming'

According to a Diversity Toolkit on Indigenous terminology for the University of NSW (pictured), it is more appropriate to say Australia was invaded. The guidelines are similar at all universities in Australia

It also claims a line commonly referred to in history books stating that Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth were the first men to cross the Blue Mountains in NSW is inappropriate.

'Aboriginal men, women and children had crossed the Blue Mountains for thousands of years before European explorers,' the guidelines read.

'Statements such as this deny the Indigenous history of Australia, and are examples of the White Australia frame of reference that totally excludes Indigenous Australia.'

The guidelines also advise it is more appropriate to refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as an Indigenous Australian or an Aboriginal person instead of an Aboriginal or Aborigine.

The teaching toolkit is understood to be based on similar guidelines at universities across Australia.