THE ABC has come under fire for wasting taxpayers' money on a new website which encourages children to "make better farts".
The Federal Government is outraged that the national broadcaster axed the popular children's show Behind The News because of a lack of funding, but managed to find money to teach kids how to break wind more effectively.
Respected scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has written a column for the site called Begone With The Wind, telling children that "the average fart is a wondrous event". Children are also encouraged to take part in a "Great Fart Survey", a "Great Baked Beans Fart Experiment" and to submit poetry about bodily functions.
"What are the farts of Australia's kids really like?" the survey asks. "Are we a nation of silent and deadlies or machine gunners? And how much do baked beans really increase your farting ability?"
Another section titled "celebrity farts" asks high-profile Australians to recall their fondest farting memory.
Stephen Curry, star of the hit film The Castle, tells young readers of his best effort "in the summer of '89".
"After a day that included Aunty Morag's infamous baked beans and onions on toast followed by a lunch of boiled egg and tuna sandwiches, I was aware of a strange internal rumbling. I had a fair idea. A fart was brewing," Curry writes.
While the website is supposed to be a light-hearted view of the inner working of the human body, senior ministers found the site distasteful.
They are preparing to take their complaints to ABC management.
