Controversial artist Bill Henson has yet again come under fire from the nation's "outraged" and "revolted" politicians, this time following revelations he went to a primary school to search for suitable subjects for his artwork.
In a book by journalist David Marr, Mr Henson said a Melbourne primary school principal agreed to let him wander the playground at lunchtime, accompanied by the principal, in search of subjects for his artwork.
"If the report is accurate, I am disgusted by it," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Sydney today.
"I think parents would be revolted and horrified if this were true."
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said he was outraged by the report.
"There are very big issues here relating to the protection of children, their privacy and informed consent," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The matters that have been described in the media are totally inappropriate and unacceptable and I share the outrage that has been expressed by many people at these events," he said.
"I'm astounded by the reports."
Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan said it was the ultimate betrayal of parents' trust and someone ought to be sacked.
Mr Marr said Mr Henson was accompanied by the school principal at all times and he did not tell the children he wanted them to model for him or take any photographs.
"The only contact with the photographer was if the parents of the children wished to talk to him," he told Sky News.
"The impression has been put about by Senator Heffernan and by others that he kind of roamed, roamed the playground unsupervised, perhaps interviewing children, perhaps photographing children.
"That is not the case. The impression that he is sort of loose in the playground is actually factually wrong."
Mr Henson told Mr Marr he mostly found his subjects through friends or friends of friends.
He said there had never been an occasion where a subject had become distressed immediately after a sitting, but conceded there may have been occasions when he had made mistakes.
"There must have been a few errors of judgment in 35 years of work, where I photographed someone who in retrospect has gone, 'I wish I didn't do that'," Mr Henson said in an edited excerpt of Mr Marr's book published in the Fairfax press today.
In May, the prime minister bought into the controversy surrounding the NSW police seizing Mr Henson's photographs from a gallery.
"I find them absolutely revolting," he said of the pictures.
"Kids deserve to have the innocence of their childhood protected. I have a very deep view of this. For God's sake, let's just allow kids to be kids," he said at the time."
Mr Rudd also attacked Mr Henson's work after a 2003 picture of a naked Olympia Nelson, aged six, was splashed across the front cover of Art Monthly Magazine.
"Frankly, I can't stand this stuff," he said.
