Scott Morrison has lashed out at staff at a Victorian primary school who helped young students leave a school assembly before the national anthem was sung, calling them “do-gooders” who should win “muppet of the year” awards.

A group of 30 to 40 young children left the assembly at Cranbourne Carlisle primary school, near Frankston, south-east of Melbourne, earlier this month.

The Shia Muslim students were observing the holy month of Muharram, which marks the death of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein ibn Ali. Those marking the holy month are in mourning and must abstain from anything joyous, such as music and singing.

A number of the students aged between eight and 10 became confused about whether singing the national anthem was considered joyous, and were given the opportunity to leave the school hall by staff.

Morrison, the former immigration minister, now treasurer, was scathing of the decision to usher the children out.



“This was just pathetic,” he told 3AW on Wednesday morning. “We are all Australians, we all love our national anthem.

“I know people of Muslim faith – Sunni, Shia – would be just as offended as you and I would.

“I just shook my head and said this is doing nobody any favours. Some do-gooders tried to make a point and they have ended up damaging the whole show. So look, they get the muppet of the year award from me for that.”

But the principal said the decision was made solely to reassure the children.

“I suppose many of us would not consider the national anthem joyous,” Cheryl Irving told Guardian Australia. “The children are young. They were confused. They didn’t want to get in trouble at home or at school.

“It wasn’t a pre-thought-out action. When they came to the assembly, they were caught in a dilemma,” Irving told Channel 10’s The Project on Tuesday night.

“They knew that they should not be taking part in music. They also knew that the national anthem had music, so they were caught in a dilemma and didn’t know what to do.

“Some stood to leave, so the teacher intervened and gave them the opportunity to move out quietly, so they weren’t confused and they weren’t upset.”

Cranbourne Carlisle primary is a public school with about 440 enrolled students, hailing from at least 21 countries. It prides itself on diversity and inclusion, sporting the motto “many cultures, one community”.

The former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ikebal Patel, said Morrison’s interjection “was not helpful”.

“Instead of calming the situation, he beat it up,” Patel said.

“I’m surprised that it’s coming from Scott Morrison in a Malcolm Turnbull government. I’m quite disappointed.”

Patel said the children should have sung the anthem, but said they were young and might have been confused by what constituted acceptable mourning behaviour. He noted that other religions had festivals that marked the passing of revered figures in which adherents are expected to behave in a sombre manner.

Irving said Cranbourne catered for students from all faiths, and made allowances for Christian children with dietary or other restrictions related to observance of Lent.

She would not be drawn on whether far-right activists, such as those protesting against a mosque being built in Bendigo, were using her school to push an anti-Islamic agenda, saying only that she had been “enormously surprised” by the negativity.

Patel warned that the atmosphere in Victoria was a “tinder box” because of opposition to the Bendigo mosque.

Irving said feedback arising from the event had been non-stop, but that most of it was from people outside the school community. Only one parent had raised concerns with the school.

“[We’ve had] some messages of support, but certainly a lot of upset and anger in the community,” she said.

Since the incident a fortnight ago, Irving had spoken to Muslim parents to clarify whether their children should sing the anthem. Only two children were due to skip the next assembly, on Wednesday afternoon, on religious grounds. Muharram ends on 12 November.

The Victorian government backed the actions of the school in a joint statement issued on Tuesday by the education minister, James Merlino, and the multicultural affairs minister, Robin Scott.

“The actions of these students was not a sign of disrespect, in fact, it was quite the opposite,” the statement said. “Outside of this observance period, these students gladly participate in singing and music in school, including our national anthem, and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.

“The school has shown respect and sensitivity to the different cultures and faiths within its community.”

Merlino rang Irving on Wednesday morning to show his support for the school’s decision, the principal said.