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"I've seen some bad times in this house, but this is one of the lowest I've ever seen. When you go to that sort of standard of language, nothing's beneath you after that, is it?"  

That was Winston Peters yesterday after his coalition colleague, Brooke van Velden, used the c-word in parliament.  

And I’m with him 100%.  

He said he was disgusted that the word was said in Parliament, and he was disgusted that the word was used in a newspaper article at the weekend – which is why it came up for discussion yesterday.    

And the timing of it was interesting, because just hours after the c-bomb went off, it was announced that the co-leaders of Te Pati Māori have been suspended for three weeks, and one of their MPs suspended for a week.  

This is in relation to them getting out of their seats in Parliament and doing the haka as a protest against David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill.  

The part of it that actually got them in strife wasn’t the haka, it was the two-finger gun salute given to David Seymour while they were out of their seats.     

If you were to ask me: “What’s worse? The two-finger gun salute in Parliament or an MP using the c-word in Parliament?” I would say that the bad language is way worse. Hands down. 

And if you were to ask me: “What’s worse? MPs doing a haka in Parliament or an MP using the c-word in Parliament?” Same. The bad language is way worse than that too. 

I’m not defending the Māori Party MPs, because what they did is not the kind of thing I expect in Parliament. At the time, I thought it was a great piece of theatrics, but it’s not appropriate.  

Just like I’m not going to defend Green MP Julie Anne Genter crossing the floor that time to go nuts at Matt Doocey. That didn’t meet my expectations of parliamentary behaviour either.     

Which is why I think that ACT party deputy leader Brooke van Velden has to be hauled over the coals. Even though she, reportedly, had permission from the Clerk of the House. 

And why I agree with Winston Peters and with Judith Collins who have both been saying since yesterday afternoon that we have reached a new low. That behaviour in Parliament has reached a new low.  

It’s believed that van Velden is the first MP to intentionally use the c-word in the House. This was when she was replying to a question from Labour about the Government’s pay equity changes. 

Or, more to the point, a question referring to the opinion article at the weekend about the pay equity row, where the writer used the c-word. 

I don’t know why Labour even brought it up, when it seems to have been silent about the derogatory nature of the article. I thought the article itself was appalling, but the writer seems to have gotten away with it because her employer is backing her to the hilt.  

But that doesn’t mean that Parliament should turn a blind eye. 

I wasn’t impressed with Speaker Gerry Brownlee's handling of things yesterday. Not once did he interrupt van Velden, only saying afterwards that it might have been better to refrain from using the word. Saying “more discretion” could have been used. 

The wet bus ticket treatment from the Speaker doesn’t give me much hope that standards in Parliament are going to improve. 

I know people have been saying forever that parliamentarians behave badly but I think Parliament needs to up its game big time.  

That is where laws are made. Parliament is where we look-to for leadership. And this is probably a bit old school, but Parliament sets the standard for society.  

Some people say it should reflect society, but I say it should set the benchmark, and our politicians should show us what a civil society looks like.