Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Hansard source

Order! I have listened to the points of order. I will make two comments. Firstly, just because you state something in parliament does not shield you from the fact that the language could be inappropriate. That is the first point I make, and I took that advice from the Clerk. Secondly, I am concerned about the language that is being used, but I am also concerned about the rights of individual senators to be able to express what they want to express in response to an answer. With the indulgence of the Senate, for the remainder of today's question time I would ask that the language be contained to what we would consider to be appropriate language. I am going to reflect on this and report back to the Senate tomorrow in relation to how language will be used in questions in the future.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! I have made my ruling. Senator Brandis