Christmas 'culture war' goes against premier's 'nice guy' image

Even the stores that are ever ready to capitalise on the Christmas spirit have barely started to sneak in themed goods.

And yet Christmas seems to be the only thing Tasmania can talk about right now.

Thanks largely to a social media post by the leader of the state just over a week ago, where he alerted his constituents to an apparent attempt by a school to "remove all references to Christmas in end-of-year school celebrations".

"Whatever your religion or heritage, Christmas is part of our way of life," he wrote.

"Acknowledging other traditions is important.

"But that's not a reason to abandon our own."

In the post, Mr Rockliff said he had asked the education department to step in.

The problem is, the post did not have all the facts right.

School still had Christmas events in its calendar

While the government did not name an individual school (and continues to claim it's a broader issue), it became apparent, due to a social media post by Pulse Media minutes before Mr Rockliff's, that it was referring to one particular case.

The school was planning to change the name of just one event from 'Christmas on the Hill' to 'End of Year Extravaganza' and swap out carols for some pop songs.

But its calendar, which contains multiple references to Christmas, indicated there was no attempt to "remove all references to Christmas in end-of-year school celebrations".

The premier's post may have been rather general, gone to an effort not to identify the school and even moderated comments, but a predictable culture war over "cancelling Christmas" unfolded from there.

It was never going to be hard to work out which school it was.

Media outlets including the Daily Mail, Sunrise and Pulse named the school, with some identifying the acting principal.

She is now on stress leave, which is pretty understandable; having a decision you made be called out publicly by the most senior person in the state, by name or not, would rattle most people.

As an education department employee, the acting principal is not allowed to defend themselves and the reasons for the end-of-year changes in the same public manner.

Certain senior Liberal MPs, including the education minister, have been conspicuously silent on the issue, but elements of the party's right faction have taken it up with glee.

Treasurer Eric Abetz posted an AI-generated image of a parent consoling a child about a cancelled nativity play, while minister Felix Ellis posted a straw man argument along with a still from the iconic Christmas movie, The Grinch.

They were just two in the very public Liberal pile-on.

Education union launches petition

The Australian Education Union (AEU) claims staff are upset and being harassed.

There are also reports of security being required at the school because of the heated online climate.

The AEU, along with Unions Tas and other MPs, are calling on the premier to apologise for his public handling of the issue, with the AEU even launching a petition.

Of course every new piece of discourse, including this one, keeps the conversation going and continues to add to the stress some are experiencing.

Almost a week on from the story breaking, the premier went public again, doubling down on his earlier comments and not apologising.

"I believe that I have a right to voice that opinion, on behalf of our community," he wrote on Tuesday.

"Concerned parents contacted me regarding a school's decision to remove references to Christmas.

"The school's response confirmed changes were being made, out of concerns about exclusion."

Labor, which was a little slow to the party, has fully joined the parade now.

Deputy Leader Janie Finlay was on the radio earlier this week claiming that Jeremy Rockliff had lost his "nice guy" mantle.

While Labor Leader Josh Willie called out the premier for getting the facts wrong and leaning into culture wars.

"The Education Department had already confirmed there would be carols, Christmas performances and a visit from Santa, just like every other year. He knew that. He just didn't care," wrote Mr Willie.

"Words have consequences, especially when they come from the premier.

"Leaders need to hold themselves to a higher standard."

In the context of a conversation about the political climate nationally, Federal Assistant Minister Rebecca White said politicians needed to dial the temperature down and lead by example.

"I know that he knows better than that," she said.

"I'd call on him to make amends for that, because I think that is a really tangible example of how we as community leaders can put forward a really civil conversation and lead by example."

For some, this whole saga feels out of character for Mr Rockliff — a man who promised to "lead with heart".

His almost quarter-of-a-decade in politics has earned him the decent guy title that Ms Finlay wants to take away.

When the federal Liberals leaned into the culture wars around the Voice to Parliament referendum in 2023, Mr Rockliff urged Tasmanians to support it.

Amid heightened debate over migration levels, Mr Rockliff spoke about how important migrants are and how they'll always be welcome in Tasmania.

And it was just a few months ago that he said "culture wars, frankly, do not pay the rent".

How he's found himself not only smack bang in the middle of one, but also a co-instigator of a culture war seems at odds with who he is.

Even if Mr Rockliff's intentions are good, they have ultimately caused distress for a school that even he admitted was simply making changes "out of concerns about exclusions".

For a leader who's all about inclusion, which one might argue is the intention of Christmas, this whole situation seems to be in the wrong spirit.