Primary school students refuse to stand for the national anthem

3AW Mornings has witnessed a handful of primary school students staging a protest to the national anthem at assembly.

They didn’t stand when the anthem was played, refusing to budge when asked by a teacher.

“I find it disrespectful, but can you force them to stand?” Neil Mitchell asked.

Anne-Maree Kliman, president of the Victorian Principals Association, said it was important to teach children from a young age why we stand for the anthem.

“I think, first of all, that in primary school we teach children right from the outset why we do stand for the national anthem and also acknowledge country,” she said on 3AW.

“It’s about starting from prep so they realise there is a purpose to it.

“It’s about the respect we show our country and about us being united as a country.”

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