Christopher Pyne needs to take responsibility for appointing an academic at the centre of a racist emails scandal to a curriculum review, Labor says.
University of Sydney professor Barry Spurr was suspended last week over the messages in which he described Prime Minister Tony Abbott as an "Abo lover" and lashed out out at "Mussies" and "chinky-poos".
In a new series of leaked emails he complains about Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, saying the indigenous footballer only needed to suffer from depression and have a disability to become the "complete role model for Australians today".
The education minister has tried to distance himself from the scandal, saying he had no role in appointing the poetry professor to review the curriculum.
But Labor's education spokeswoman Kate Ellis says Mr Pyne handpicked review heads Kevin Donnelly and Kenneth Wiltshire, instead of initiating an independent process with peer reviews in place.
"Minister Pyne needs to take some responsibility and the accountability line needs to stop with him," she told ABC radio on Tuesday.
Ms Ellis questioned whether Prof Spurr's personal views influenced the review, which complained of inadequate attention to Western literature, and called for the focus on indigenous history and Asian studies to be scaled back.
"Now when we look at the reported racist comments that this individual has made, it's pretty easy to see where these opinions have come from," she said.
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