One of the men at the head of the Government's national curriculum review said he would support corporal punishment in schools, so long as the local school community backed it. In an interview with Sydney radio station 2UE, Kevin Donnelly revealed there are 'one or two schools' in Australia who still use the method and claimed it had been effective in the past. 'If the school community is in favour of it then I've got no problem if it's done properly,' Dr Donnelly told shocked host Justin Smith on Tuesday. Scroll down for video . Co-chair of the government's school curriculum review, Dr Kevin Donnelly, said he would back corporal punishment if the school community was behind it . A senior researcher at the Australian Catholic University with nearly two decades of teaching experience behind him, Dr Donnelly is co-chair to the national curriculum review. He appeared on the show to respond to a Fairfax report which stated the number of students being suspended and expelled from public schools has skyrocketed in the past year. However when Mr Smith posed a question about the most effective form of punishment past or present, and made it clear he was not alluding to physical punishment such as the strap saying 'You'd never advocate bringing that back surely?', Dr Donnelly paused and chuckled before he started his answer with a hesitant 'Well...'. He referenced his own experiences at school, recalling a teacher who would most likely lose his job in this day and age, but described his punishment methods as very effective. He told of his own school experience and described the method as very effective in an interview with 2UE . Although Dr Donnelly followed up the comment saying the time has passed for corporal punishment, he reinforced his point saying if the school community is behind the idea then he would take no issue with it. He contrasted the idea with 'time out' zones which he claimed are ineffective, as they give students an easy way to get out of class and away from their schoolwork. This is not the first time Dr Donnelly has been in the spotlight for controversial comments. Dr Donnelly and Kenneth Wiltshire will hand their report to the Abbott government at the end of July . He has previously expressed his concern with gay, lesbian or transgender individuals teaching sex education in schools, and in 2011 wrote an article claiming 'Multiculturalism is based on the mistaken belief that all cultures are of equal worth'. Kenneth Wiltshire is the other co-chair of the review, and the pair were appointed by education minister Christopher Pyne in January of this year. They will hand down their final report to the Abbott Government at the end of July. Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm is open to the concept. 'Schools should be free to manage their own affairs,' he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.'I don't like the fact that there's a big government bureaucracy telling them how to run their business.' Senator Leyonhjelm believes the government should set the rules for minimum outcomes, oversee national academic testing but then step back and let schools get on with the job. Labor frontbencher Tony Burke is worried about where Mr Donnelly is heading with his review.'If it's a hint of where the review's going then we have an education proposal on the way that's looking backwards rather than forwards,' he said. The Greens want Mr Donnelly sacked from the curriculum review panel, saying his views belong to another century. 'The cane or the belt should not be brought back into our classrooms,' Greens senator Penny Wright said. Independent senator Nick Xenophon believes Mr Donnelly should confine his remarks to those areas where he was best qualified, such as literacy and numeracy skills. 'He should leave corporal punishment alone,' he said. The use of corporal punishment in schools was phased out by some states from the 1980s. An Australian Institute of Family Studies research paper found corporal punishment sometimes resulted in anti-social behaviour and poor academic achievement.
Dr Kevin Donnelly told 2UE radio he would support corporal punishment in schools .
Claimed it had been effective in the past and he would back it if the school community was in favour .
Dr Donnelly is the co-chair of the government's curriculum review .
Has previously made comments against gay people and multiculturalism .
One of the men at the head of the Government's national curriculum review said he would support corporal punishment in schools, so long as the local school community backed it. In an interview with Sydney radio station 2UE, Kevin Donnelly revealed there are 'one or two schools' in Australia who still use the method and claimed it had been effective in the past. 'If the school community is in favour of it then I've got no problem if it's done properly,' Dr Donnelly told shocked host Justin Smith on Tuesday. Scroll down for video . Co-chair of the government's school curriculum review, Dr Kevin Donnelly, said he would back corporal punishment if the school community was behind it . A senior researcher at the Australian Catholic University with nearly two decades of teaching experience behind him, Dr Donnelly is co-chair to the national curriculum review. He appeared on the show to respond to a Fairfax report which stated the number of students being suspended and expelled from public schools has skyrocketed in the past year. However when Mr Smith posed a question about the most effective form of punishment past or present, and made it clear he was not alluding to physical punishment such as the strap saying 'You'd never advocate bringing that back surely?', Dr Donnelly paused and chuckled before he started his answer with a hesitant 'Well...'. He referenced his own experiences at school, recalling a teacher who would most likely lose his job in this day and age, but described his punishment methods as very effective. He told of his own school experience and described the method as very effective in an interview with 2UE . Although Dr Donnelly followed up the comment saying the time has passed for corporal punishment, he reinforced his point saying if the school community is behind the idea then he would take no issue with it. He contrasted the idea with 'time out' zones which he claimed are ineffective, as they give students an easy way to get out of class and away from their schoolwork. This is not the first time Dr Donnelly has been in the spotlight for controversial comments. Dr Donnelly and Kenneth Wiltshire will hand their report to the Abbott government at the end of July . He has previously expressed his concern with gay, lesbian or transgender individuals teaching sex education in schools, and in 2011 wrote an article claiming 'Multiculturalism is based on the mistaken belief that all cultures are of equal worth'. Kenneth Wiltshire is the other co-chair of the review, and the pair were appointed by education minister Christopher Pyne in January of this year. They will hand down their final report to the Abbott Government at the end of July. Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm is open to the concept. 'Schools should be free to manage their own affairs,' he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.'I don't like the fact that there's a big government bureaucracy telling them how to run their business.' Senator Leyonhjelm believes the government should set the rules for minimum outcomes, oversee national academic testing but then step back and let schools get on with the job. Labor frontbencher Tony Burke is worried about where Mr Donnelly is heading with his review.'If it's a hint of where the review's going then we have an education proposal on the way that's looking backwards rather than forwards,' he said. The Greens want Mr Donnelly sacked from the curriculum review panel, saying his views belong to another century. 'The cane or the belt should not be brought back into our classrooms,' Greens senator Penny Wright said. Independent senator Nick Xenophon believes Mr Donnelly should confine his remarks to those areas where he was best qualified, such as literacy and numeracy skills. 'He should leave corporal punishment alone,' he said. The use of corporal punishment in schools was phased out by some states from the 1980s. An Australian Institute of Family Studies research paper found corporal punishment sometimes resulted in anti-social behaviour and poor academic achievement.
national curriculum review said he would support had been effective in the past. 'If the school curriculum review, Dr Kevin Donnelly, said he would back corporal punishment if the school controversial comments. Dr Donnelly and Kenneth Wiltshire is the other co-chair of the review, corporal punishment in schools was phased out by