Port Augusta mum’s anger as she pulls her kids out of Seaview Christian College after they were made to stand for the Australian national anthem

An Aboriginal mother has withdrawn her children from a school after her daughter was told to stand for the national anthem and allegedly threatened with punishment if she refused.

The unnamed mother told the ABC her 11-year-old daughter was asked to perform for Advance Australia Fair during a music class in February at Seaview Christian College, a private school in the South Australian coastal city of Port Augusta.

She accused the school of forcing “assimilation” by making children stand for the national anthem, while Seaview Christian College said the requirement was made “to respect the formality of the event.”

“You either assimilate or you leave their school,” said the irate mother.

‘There is no room for discussion, there is no room for negotiation, you either do that or you just get out.’

She said the anthem was written at a time when indigenous people “had no rights.”

The ABC viewed a letter the two girls had written about the incident but had not sent to the school.

‘Aboriginals find the ‘National Anthem’ offensive. Because it does not represent us in any way,” the girls wrote.

“And if we have to sing or stand, you are taking away our rights as Aboriginal people in our country.”

Seaview Christian College told the ABC it respected the “individual views of all students and families regarding the national anthem.”

However, it said parents must ‘uphold the principles and values ​​of our school and adhere to standards of behavior … for the collective benefit of all students’.

Seaview Christian College requires parents to sign an enrollment contract before admitting children, whereby families commit to fully support the college and to respectfully respect the college’s leadership and their decisions.

The school also said that a “written offer to meet and discuss the issues further was declined by the family,” although other emails suggested the meeting would only take place if the mother “understood the college’s position.”

It is alleged that the 11-year-old girl’s name, along with the name of another 12-year-old Aboriginal student who also refused to stand up, was written on the blackboard and both were given a lunch detention to be served the next day to sit.

The mother kept her daughter home from school the next day, but the ABC said the other girl was believed to have served detention.

There is no official policy for the singing of the national anthem in South Australian schools (pictured: Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags

Seaview Christian College denied to the ABC that any disciplinary action had been taken.

The mother said the children’s grandmother was a member of the Stolen Generations and was beaten for not participating in the national anthem during her training.

In her case, when the national anthem was played, the mother said she was “not being disrespectful” but sat quietly and let the song pass, which is the same attitude she has taught her children from more than one student at Seaview Christian College.

She told the school that singing the national anthem was tantamount to singing it.

Although it is official Commonwealth protocol that people must stand when the national anthem is played, there is no formal policy on this in South Australian schools.

SA Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Youth April Lawrie said the situation described was “absolutely not cultural safety”.

“I think the school’s response does not seem to fit the issue, it is not proportionate,” Commissioner Lawrie said.

She said Aboriginal people should not be belittled or ashamed for standing up for their “cultural identity”.

The mother has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, the Independent Schools Association and the Education Standards Board of South Australia.

Seaview Christian College has been contacted for comment.