The Project’s Peter van Onselen delivers an expletive-ridden message for his own CHILDREN

The Project may be on at the family-friendly time of 6.30pm, but that didn’t stop panelist Peter van Onselen from swearing on live TV during Tuesday’s episode.

Discussing a report on the NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy), the 45-year-old political reporter branded it ‘bulls**t’.

According to a new study by the University of NSW, one to two hours of screen time each night is supposed to help a student’s performance in the NAPLAN.

But the study deemed that any more than four hours of screen time is actually detrimental to a student’s performance.

‘If my kids are watching – that is bulls**t,’ the father-of-two said, turning to address the camera directly.

His out-of-character public outburst left his colleagues momentarily stunned.  

‘Well, certainly don’t let them watch The Project – the language is disgusting!’ quipped comedian Claire Hooper.

The 44-year-old’s quick-witted response left her fellow panelists in hysterics, as they took stock of Peter’s slip of the tongue. 

Peter is known for his strong opinions, and regularly posts on Twitter.

Earlier on Tuesday, he slammed the Australian government’s response to last week’s attack on the Capitol in Washington DC.

‘The unwillingness of our leaders to condemn a US President inciting a coup is weak and dangerous,’ he tweeted. 

‘The US have strong democratic institutions, fortunately. That doesn’t change the failure of our leaders to speak up. Their weakness isn’t a case of being diplomatic. They had a duty.’