Pocock reprimanded for swearing in parliament, but what is allowed?

David Pocock, the quietly spoken footballer turned independent senator, raised eyebrows in the Senate on Thursday morning when he swore during debate on climate change legislation.

“It seems like a pretty sad day in Australia when in 2022 we’re hearing arguments about climate science after however long of the bullshit that Australians have had to – ” he got out before being pulled up by conservative Tasmanian senator Claire Chandler, who was chairing the debate, for using language that was “not parliamentary”.

Independent senator David Pocock raised eyebrows when he swore while speaking passionately on climate change.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

She asked him to withdraw and find another word to use.

“I withdraw this truth,” Pocock replied.

One of the rules around debate in parliament says MPs cannot use offensive or disorderly language, even in quotes.

This doesn’t just apply to swear words; one of the terms most consistently ordered to be withdrawn is labelling someone a “liar”.

However, that hasn’t stopped colourful language in the chambers.

A search of Hansard finds 39 instances of “bullshit” in the Senate chamber and 21 in the lower house – and another 263 across all parliamentary proceedings, including committees.

The earliest use was in the Senate in 1979 when John Button quoted the strong comments another MP made during a radio interview. He wasn’t made to withdraw.

Greens senators have used it on several recent occasions with enforcement of the rules varying.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi spoke passionately last November about what she saw as a lacklustre condemnation of right-wing extremism from the Coalition: “That is absolute rubbish. That is bullshit. You are putting people’s lives in danger,” she said.

While Faruqi got away with the unparliamentary language, a couple of months earlier, Labor’s Glen Sterle – a former truck driver – told colleague Murray Watt to withdraw the same term, although he said he couldn’t quite believe he was doing so. Sterle also made Pauline Hanson withdraw the word “bloody”.

“There are truck drivers present in the chamber that may take offence to some of the language! I’m not one of them,” he said.

Other swear words have similarly been ruled out of order.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg tried his best to quote evidence given to a royal commission about a union official telling someone to “f--- off”. He was told that even if it had been allowed in the royal commission, that language wasn’t welcome inside the Senate’s red walls.

Back in the Howard era, long-time Labor member for the north Queensland seat of Capricornia, Kirsten Livermore, didn’t even get that far.

She complained the government was doing “sweet FA” for the sugar industry, prompting deputy speaker Garry Nehl to protest, “I beg your pardon!”

In 2002, Labor senator Chris Schacht tried to speak about the French film Baise-Moi, which he said he understood “translates into English as F--- Me”. A lengthy debate ensued over whether that was the correct translation (an alternative was Kiss Me) and even so, whether it was appropriate to swear in French if senators shouldn’t do so in English.

“While I am no prude, I do not excuse Senator Schacht’s French,” Senator Julian McGauran said.

But it seems not all forms of bovine excrement are banned.

A month ago, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was speaking on the spread of foot and mouth disease in Bali, which she described as totally different to other countries where the virus is present.

“Cattle roam the streets; cattle shit on the ground. People walk in that shit. That shit is then brought back in their clothing and on their person, back into this country. There is a hell of a difference with what happens in Bali, so close to us,” she told the Senate.

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