Labor takes veiled swipe at Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, says Parliament run as 'protection racket' for Tony Abbott

Updated

Labor says Federal Parliament has descended into a "protection racket" for Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his ministers, in a veiled swipe at Liberal Speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

But the Government says Opposition frontbenchers are on the "verge of bullying" the Speaker, and is rejecting any assertion that she is biased.

Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke says the climate in the chamber is "heating up".

"People are fast losing their patience with a House of Representatives and a Question Time that looks less like ministers being held to account and looks more like a protection racket to protect Tony Abbott from ever having to answer a question," Mr Burke said.

"Some people have remarked to me that the relationship's not going real well.

"The smirks, the jibes, the different ways that the Parliament has descended, I don't believe reflect well on this Parliament or this Government."

But Mr Burke declined to specify who was directing the "smirks" and "jibes" Labor's way.

"I'm not going to be more specific than that, I think everyone knows why," he said.

MPs are forbidden from reflecting on the Speaker outside the chamber.

Pyne says Labor's treatment of Speaker 'verging on bullying'

The Leader of the Government in the House, Christopher Pyne, hit back, saying Labor has been "rude" to the Speaker and is on the verge of "bullying" Ms Bishop.

"The truth is Bronwyn Bishop is doing a very, very good job," Mr Pyne said.

"My advice to the Opposition is to stop being as rude as they are to the Speaker.

"I've never seen such an ill-mannered rude group of people to the person who is in the chair."

Mr Pyne singled out Mr Burke and fellow Labor frontbench MPs Mark Dreyfus and Anthony Albanese as speaking rudely to the Speaker.

"It is verging on bullying," he said.

"Now I know Bronwyn Bishop pretty well, she is a pretty tough character and I'm sure she can take it, but that doesn't mean that the Labor Party should be allowed to get away with the incredible rudeness that they demonstrate in the chamber."

The Speaker has denied Labor MPs the opportunity to raise points of order at times, ruling them invalid before they have even been aired.

Asked if that was fair, Mr Pyne said the Labor Party raises the same points of order to disrupt Question Time.

"I think she's extremely fair and reasonable," he said.

Topics: federal-parliament, parliament, government-and-politics, australia

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