A talkback caller from Mr Dutton’s Queensland electorate told him on-air that at a recent assembly at Kedron State School, the lyrics of the famous Christmas carol were changed to “we wish you a happy holiday”.

“It is political correctness gone mad and I think people have just had enough of it,” said Mr Dutton to 2GB host Ray Hadley. “Many of the people, regardless of their religious belief, would be there happy to sing Christmas carols, happy to enjoy the fact that we celebrate Christmas as a Christian society.

“People need to speak against it.” – Peter Dutton

“It’s beyond my comprehension but it has gone too far.”

While Mr Hadley suggested that blame lied with “left-wing teachers” and Kedron’s principal, Mr Dutton likened the situation to the early 1990s when the Liberal Party accused the then Prime Minister Paul Keating of being too “politically correct”.

“People had a gutful of it and I think we’re back to the same stage now,” Mr Dutton said during his 2GB interview, about Australia’s alleged climate of political correctness.

“I think we need to rise up against it. People need to speak against it.”