Popular Australian John Marsden has defended his controversial views on bullying after he deemed it was simply “feedback” from other students.

The author of the Tomorrow When the War Began series has been a teacher for four decades and says bullying could be prompted by the “unlikeable behaviours” of the child who is being bullied.

The comments have proved controversial, with many experts disagreeing with his take.

Mr Marsden tells Ben Fordham bullying is reflective of the child’s character.

“So you get a kid who gets called a cheat or someone says you’re a tightass… when you start to unpack those words you find that there’s actually some valid information being conveyed to them.

“When adults stop bullying each other there’s a very good chance that children will stop bullying each other, but we’ll be waiting a long time before we see that happen.”

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