Spat over behaviour in the Senate extends into second day

Parliament is “descending into farce” today — even more so than usual — with politicians hurling explosive claims at each other.

Parliament is “descending into farce” today, with Australia’s politicians accusing each other of hurling personal and sometimes sexist abuse across the Senate chamber.

The spat started yesterday afternoon, when the LNP’s Barry O’Sullivan made a crude joke about Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young while criticising her failure to attend committee hearings.

“She didn’t turn up. There’s a bit of Nick Xenophon in her, and I don’t mean that to be a double reference, but there’s a bit of Xenophon in her,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale shouted across the chamber in response, calling Mr O’Sullivan “a grub” and “an absolute pig”.

“He’s a disgrace,” a furious Mr Di Natale yelled.

Mr O’Sullivan promptly withdrew his comment. Mr Di Natale refused to withdraw his own, and was suspended from the Senate for the rest of the day as punishment.

“We have endured on this side, days of sexist filth coming from that man,” he said.

“He is a pig and he should consider and reflect on the standards he is adopting in this chamber.”

Ms Hanson-Young pointed the finger at four men for allegedly targeting her with a “pattern” of abuse.

“I have sat in this chamber for weeks and weeks, months, and heard the disgusting slurs and attacks coming from a particular group in this place, and I for one am sick of it,” she said.

“You are not fit to be in this chamber, you’re not fit to represent your constituents, you’re not fit to call yourselves men.”

Ms Hanson-Young named Mr O’Sullivan, Fraser Anning, Cory Bernardi and David Leyonhjelm as the group in question.

Today news.com.au went to each of them and gave them a chance to respond.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Picture: AAP/Lukas Coch

DAVID LEYONHJELM

Mr Leyonhjelm has represented the Liberal Democrats in the Senate since 2014.

He is a controversial figure known for using particularly blunt language. He also has a bitter history with Ms Hanson-Young.

The Greens Senator sued Mr Leyonhjelm, alleging he had defamed her, after comments he made amid a debate about violence against women in June.

During that debate, Mr Leyonhjelm told Ms Hanson-Young she should “stop shagging men”.

He has pushed for her lawsuit to be thrown out of court, arguing it is an attack on freedom of speech.

Speaking to news.com.au today, Mr Leyonhjelm accused the Greens of being “profoundly hypocritical”.

“I sit next to the Greens. They insult me on a daily basis. I am called a grub several times a day by Di Natale in particular,” he said.

“They are the worst abusers in the Senate.

“When somebody responds, when somebody uses the same language that they use, they claim it is sexist if it’s directed at a female senator.”

He rejected any suggestion that he and his colleagues’ language was sexist.

“It’s the same language whether it is a male or a female Greens member.”

Mr Leyonhjelm stood up and walked out of the Senate chamber this morning while Mr Di Natale spoke about the allegations of personal abuse. So did Mr Anning and Mr O’Sullivan.

“He (Di Natale) was telling lies, quite frankly. He was misrepresenting what Barry O’Sullivan had said,” Mr Leyonhjelm said.

He said Mr O’Sullivan’s comment was not meant to be sexual, and he was simply referring to Ms Hanson-Young “starting inquiries and not following up”.

“You can interpret that in a sexual way, which is what he is pretending Barry O’Sullivan meant,” Mr Leyonhjelm said.

“In hindsight he probably would have rephrased it, but he wasn’t intending it to be sexual.”

Mr Leyonhjelm said “there are days” when the behaviour in the Senate is “pretty poor”, but “most of the time it is OK”.

David Leyonhjelm. Picture: AAP

CORY BERNARDI

Mr Bernardi did a Julia Banks before it was cool, defecting from the Liberal Party in February of last year to establish his own party, the Australian Conservatives.

He had some particularly blunt words for Ms Hanson-Young today.

“Sarah Hanson-Young is a fantasist,” Mr Bernardi told news.com.au.

“She can’t get past the fact that her incompetence and her loathsome view of the world have nothing to do with her gender.

“Any criticisms I make are about her decisions, her rationale, her hypocrisy and the complete lack of credibility she takes in her role as a senator.”

Mr Bernardi said the Greens were "hypocrites of the highest order” and “completely dysfunctional”.

“The Greens have a very long history of sexism, misogyny, misandry, heterophobia and homophobia within their own political party,” he said.

“It’s about time the Australian public woke up to how dangerous they are.”

He said yesterday’s drama occurred because Mr Di Natale refused to withdraw his comments calling Mr O’Sullivan a “grub” and “pig”.

“The Greens think the rules shouldn’t apply to them,” Mr Bernardi said.

“There are very few people in that place who can say they have not had snide remarks directed towards them.

“The hypocrites are the ones who are complaining about them.”

Cory Bernardi. Picture: AAP

FRASER ANNING

Mr Anning joined the Senate a year ago as the replacement for One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts, who had been disqualified under Section 44 of the constitution.

He quickly fell out with party leader Pauline Hanson, and by January of this year he was officially sitting as an independent.

In June, Mr Anning joined Katter’s Australian Party. But the party kicked him out last month over his inflammatory rhetoric after he delivered a deeply controversial maiden speech calling for a ban on Muslim immigration.

Mr Anning’s office told us he left the chamber this morning because he had a meeting to attend.

“Since being sworn into the Senate I have been called a racist, fascist, “rando” and a swath of other derogatory terms — those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Mr Anning said.

“I have never denigrated any man or woman in that place and though Sarah-Hanson Young has accused me of doing such things, I would suggest she is mistaken.”

“The Senate is supposed to be a place of civility and gentlemanly/womanly poise, yet we see it regularly breaking down into slinging insults from the gutter. The standards on all sides need to be raised.”

Fraser Anning. Picture: AAP

BARRY O’SULLIVAN

Mr O’Sullivan represents the Liberal National Party.

He is bombastic, to say the least. A couple of weeks ago he declared himself a woman in the Senate while speaking about abortion.

“I’ve moved sensible motions here, reflecting the views of so many people in our society, only to have formality denied,” he said.

“I’m going to declare my gender today, as I can, to be a woman. And then you'll no longer be able to attack me.”

We contacted Mr O’Sullivan’s office this morning, but have yet to hear back.

He immediately withdrew his comment about Ms Hanson-Young yesterday when pressed to do so by the President of the Senate, Scott Ryan.

Barry O'Sullivan. Picture: AAP/Mick Tsikas

SLIPPING STANDARDS

At the start of the Senate’s business today, Mr Ryan urged Senators to raise their standards of behaviour.

“Unparliamentary epithets and abuse have no place in this chamber,” he said.

“Personal abuse has no place, particularly if it targets race or gender.

“This is not just a matter of rules. This is a matter of respect — of each other, of the institution, of those that elected us.”

He flagged a proposal to limit the rowdiest period of the Senate each day, general business, saying it was “rapidly descending into farce”.

Mr Di Natale rose to speak in response.

“The repeated shaming and innuendo, directed not just across at this side of the chamber, but directed right across the Senate, is reinforcing a culture of workplace harassment and the open harassment of women in our society,” he said.

“This, one of the most powerful institutions in the country, allows men to openly and brazenly shame, insult and harass female members of parliament.

“There has been a repeated pattern from a small number of men in this chamber, who either through whispers and sometimes on the record, make the most demeaning and insulting comments directed against many of my colleagues.”

Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Picture: AAP/Mick Tsikas

Halfway through Mr Di Natale's speech, Mr O’Sullivan, Mr Anning and Mr Leyonhjelm stood and walked out of the chamber together.

“When it comes to the treatment of women in this place, there are some in particular who should reflect on their actions and words,” Mr Di Natale said.

“They are those people who are walking out right now, who aren’t strong enough. Who simply cannot hear the truth. They are the cowards here.

“Despite your (the President’s) words this morning, they take no heed on the call on all of us to improve the standards in this place.”

Mr Di Natale revealed he had been “forced to reflect on his own role” in allowing the alleged abuse to go unchecked, and had apologised to Ms Hanson-Young for failing to intervene on her behalf in the past.

“I said that I would now stand up and call it out whenever I heard it. That she would not be alone. And yet, this behaviour continues. They do it over and over and over again.

“Those words can never be taken back. They hurt and they damage.”

The government and opposition, represented by Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong, each backed Mr Ryan’s call for more civility.