IRISH POLITICIANS ARE not allowed use a raft of ‘bad words’, including brat, chancer, gurrier and communist.
In Leinster House, such terms are considered ‘unparliamentary language’.
So what would those in the Dáil chamber think about Christopher Pyne’s recent outburst during Question Time with the Education Minister?
Australians have taken to Twitter and Facebook to discuss one very important question – did the Minister use the c-word?
Pyne, who has just announced controversial higher education reforms, denies using the really bad word. He says he simply called Bill Shorten a ‘grub’.
The attack began:
He will have to stop being the No 1 whinger in Australia. He will have to start having solutions rather than being all complaint and no responsibility.
“If No 1 whinger in Australia were a reality TV show, there would be no point in any other contestant entering it – because if Bill Shorten entered it, he would win it! But on Thursday night the leader of the opposition has an opportunity.”
Before uttering the disputed word, he was reprimanded by the manager of opposition business for calling the leader ‘Bill Shorten’ instead of his official title, ‘Opposition Leader’.
After the four-letter word was heard, the Speaker then asked Pyne to “refer to people by their correct name”.
The Sydney Morning Herald recalls the term ‘grub’ being used in parliament in the recent past.
Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard got herself into hot water by describing an opposition spokesperson as a “snivelling grub”.
On being called up on it, she told the Speaker: ”If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally”.
She soon found herself thrown out of parliament for 24 hours for defying a request for an unconditional backdown.
Hat tip to Jenny Hislop for bringing this one to our attention.
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