Christopher Pyne, our Education Minister and noted weasel resembler, literally called Opposition Leader Bill Shorten a cunt during Parliamentary sitting today. Not a mumbled word, or a heckle from the gallery. While he was standing and addressing the house, he looked Bill in the eye, laughed and said “You’re such a cunt.“

Parliament Speaker Bronwyn Bishop‘s response? “The minister will refer to people by their correct titles.” THAT’S IT.

Pyne, who is a publicly elected official and also (for all intents and purposes) a grown adult human in a professional environment, gave Billy the ole’ See You Next Tuesday after the Labor side of the bench committed the cardinal sin of interrupting Pyne whilst he was in the middle of a very important speech petty childlike insult-slinging ramble in which he felt that a good use of Parliamentary time, and the salary that tax payers fund for him, would be to suggest Bill Shorten would make a good reality TV contestant.

And let’s just stop for a second and recognise the fact that Bronwyn Bishop didn’t even so much as reprimand, or even kind of tell off Pyne for dropping the biz. This is a woman who has gleefully kicked over 100 Labor MPs out of the chamber during her tenure as speaker, some for as little as laughing, and yet Pyne goes straight to the punchline of a George Carlin bit and all he has to do to smooth it over is snidely respond “I withdraw.”

It begs the question: What does a member of the Liberal party have to do to get kicked out of the Parliamentary chamber by Bronwyn Bishop? At this stage it’s probably not unfair to state the out-and-out murder would probably only attract a disapproving sideways glance.

Children, please.



UPDATE 4:22pm – We emailed Christopher Pyne to get a bit of clarification on the issue, and he replied.

He insists it was “grub” but I swear I heard a “t” and no “r” in there.

If you’d like your own clarification from him, drop him an email at C.Pyne.MP@aph.gov.au and voice your very real and well thought out concerns. Or just send him limericks or something, IDK.

Photo: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.