SUNRISE is under investigation by the broadcasting watchdog over a segment on Aboriginal families that was labelled racist and led to protests outside Channel 7 in Sydney.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority confirmed it was investigating whether the breakfast show had breached the commercial TV code of practice in a panel discussion on white families adopting indigenous children, The Guardian reported.

ACMA said that a “significant amount of community concern has been expressed about that broadcast”, and it had commenced a formal investigation.

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge was one of those to lodge a formal complaint with ACMA, claiming panellist Prue MacSween had made “a highly offensive, racist and divisive statement”, and there was no attempt by host Samantha Armytage to condemn or rebuke it.

MacSween said removing the kids was a “no-brainer” and that there was a “conspiracy of silence and fabricated PC outlook that it’s better to leave them in this dangerous environment.”

She added: “Don’t worry about the people who decry and handwring and say, this will be another Stolen Generation ... Just like the first Stolen Generation, where a lot of children were taken because it was for their wellbeing, we need to do it again, perhaps.”

The controversial chat earlier this month began with a report children’s minister David Gillespie had proposed white families should be able to adopt indigenous children to save them from rape, assault and neglect.

Mr Gillespie later said he did not use the phrase “white families”.

Armytage introduced the segment by saying: “Post-Stolen Generation, there’s been a huge move to leave Aboriginal children where they are, even if they’re being neglected in their own families.”

She wrongly claimed indigenous children currently could not be fostered by white families.

Brisbane radio host Ben Davis said Mr Gillespie’s proposal was simply spelling out “what a lot of politicians are afraid to say”, adding that doubts over taking this step were “politically correct nonsense”

But social media users were disturbed by the discussion, with the chat attracting a stream of comments calling it “blatant racism”, “vile” and “a new low”.

The segment sparked a massive protest in Martin Place, which provides the backdrop for the morning show. But producers seemingly went to extraordinary lengths to hide this from their audience, closing soundproof blinds in the studio, and broadcasting stock exterior footage behind the hosts.

“Love how instead of acknowledging there is a protest outside, Sunrise just pins up a green screen of innocuous Martin Square footage. Way to hide your shame,” wrote one Twitter user.

However after the criticism, Sunrise invited three Indigenous child protection experts on to the show for a “special” panel the following week.

A spokesperson for Seven told Fairfax Media at the time: “Editorial opinions, either written or articulated are a vital part of journalism.

“At all times on Sunrise, respect for others and their values and opinions is a foundation principle in debates.

“The issue raised by the page one article in today’s newspapers around the country warranted a discussion in a fair and reasonable forum, as undertaken by social commentators Prue MacSween and Ben Davis.”

Channel 7 and Sunrise have not yet responded to news of the investigation.