"Brain-dead, a drunkard" listen to the exchange in a Senate Estimates Committee enquiry into the NBN: Language warning

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy accused Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan of being drunk during a fiery senate estimates hearing last night.

Under opposition questioning, Senator Bill Heffernan suggested Senator Stephen Conroy was "full of sh*t" when the government was trying to explain why questions on notice had not been answered properly.

Senator Conroy replied: "You've obviously been drinking. Go somewhere else and annoy somebody else."

Senator Heffernan said the comment should be withdrawn.

"I haven't been bloody drinking," he said.

Conroy boasts about making people wear red undies on their head

But Senator Conroy laughed and, when asked again about the original issue, said: "Ah, I'm happy to take that on notice.”

Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham replied: "You did take it on notice and we didn't get a bloody answer!"

Senator Conroy eventually withdrew his remarks.