Gay kookaburra isn't fun for Australian headteacher

A primary school headteacher in Melbourne who told pupils to sing "fun" instead of "gay" in the Australian folk song Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree has been bombarded with angry emails.

Garry Martin said he wasn't being homophobic or politically correct but wanted to stop pupils giggling at the line "gay your life must be".

"I could've stopped the whole class and gone into a very caring, supportive explanation of gay being quite a reasonable choice in lifestyle that some people make, but I was only talking with seven and eight-year-olds and I think that sort of thing is better explained more fully with parents."

Crusader Hillis, chief executive of the gay and lesbian advocacy group The Also Foundation, called the lyrical swap an overreaction.

"It sends a signal to people that just because a word has two meanings, that one of those meanings is unacceptable and that's really putting us backwards.

"Even if it's done for good intentions because gay' is being used in schoolyards as a slur, I think they need to use the word as a conversation rather than banning it."

Mr Martin said his decision was a mistake made with the best of intentions.