Natalie Barr LOSES IT in astonishing rant about a lollipop man: ‘What has happened to Australia? This is not Australia – absolutely ridiculous’

Sunrise presenter Nar Barr has slammed the decision to ban a lollipop man from giving high fives to schoolchildren in a heated tirade, calling it “un-Australian”.

John Goulden, a crossing supervisor at Mount Dandenong Primary School, was given a reprimand by the Yarra Ranges Council in Victoria after just one parent complained.

The beloved lollipop man had been giving high-fives to students for four years before he was told to abide by the council’s code of conduct.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” an exasperated Barr said of the decision on Thursday.

‘Yarra Ranges Council, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Why is one person allowed to say what everyone in the whole community is saying?

‘One lollipop man punching children, what happened to Australia?

‘If you are from Yarra Ranges Council please call us, otherwise we will call you.

“This is not Australia. Absolutely ridiculous.”

John Goulden, a crossing supervisor at Mount Dandenong Primary School, was reprimanded by Yarra Ranges Council after just one parent complained

Co-host Monique Wright added that ‘all it took was one Karen to ruin everyone’s fun’.

“If it was Karen or Ken, we had them on us this morning,” Barr agreed.

Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas told Sunrise that 99.9 per cent of Australians would praise Mr Goulden for “doing exactly what we want our seniors to do”.

“You are making a contribution, you are making our children feel safe, you are making them feel welcome, with a high-five, please,” he said.

‘Common sense needs to regain its ground and this would be a very good first step, to throw this out and turn it back. How ridiculous.’

“You wonder who at Yarra Ranges Council said, ‘OK, we’ve got a complaint, we’ve got to do something about it,’” Barr replied.

She asked Melbourne announcer Neil Mitchell if he thought allowing high-fives posed a risk to children’s safety.

“They should reconsider and they will. There are already 800 signatures on the petition and that will grow with this exposure,” he said.

‘I’ve looked at it. There are 36 pages of instructions from VicRoads for the traffic controllers. They’re not allowed to vape, they’re not allowed to smoke, they’re not allowed to read newspapers, they’re not allowed to have cell phones, they’re not allowed to knit, but it doesn’t say anything about high fives.

“And he says he was yelled at for calling the kids ‘honey.’ We’re concerned about the kids’ mental health. He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to do.

‘He talks to them. He welcomes them.’

Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas told Sunrise that 99.9 per cent of Australians would praise Mr Goulden for ‘doing exactly what we want our seniors to do’

Angry parents have rallied behind Mr Goulden, launching a petition with more than 1,000 signatures calling for him to continue high-fiving his students.

According to the Yarra Ranges Council, the parent who made the complaint was concerned that Mr Goulden’s high-fives posed a threat to the safety of students.

“Council has reminded the contractor currently supervising children at Mount Dandenong Primary School of the expectations of his role in relation to interaction with children,” the council said in a statement.

Angry parents have rallied behind Mr Goulden and started an online petition to allow him to continue giving high-fives to students.

Organiser and parent at the school, Rohan Bradley, plans to present the petition to the council in the hope that they will reverse the decision.

“I was really happy to be able to support this and encourage people to speak out because (the ban) felt like an injustice to the community,” he told the Herald Sun.

As of Thursday morning, the petition had collected nearly 1,200 signatures online, plus 45 signatures from students and staff at the school.

“John’s friendly high-fives are indeed a form of positive social interaction that helps improve the mental health of children in our community,” Mr. Bradley wrote.

“His morning and afternoon high fives have become a tradition that many children look forward to. A small gesture that symbolizes the warmth and friendliness of our unique community.”