Australia’s leader of the opposition was pulled up by the deputy speaker for repeatedly misgendering her during a debate in parliament on Thursday.
Peter Dutton, a lawmaker from the Liberal Party of Australia, repeatedly addressed Labour party member Sharon Claydon who was presiding the chair, as “Mr Speaker” at least 17 times during his speech.
Even though Ms Claydon reminded him that she is “not Mr Speaker”, Mr Dutton continued referring to her in that way.
“You continue to call me ‘Mr Speaker’ and I have given it a long reign,” the deputy speaker said in her first warning, correcting the leader of the opposition after he referred to her as “Mr Speaker” 10 times.
“You need to use my correct title and when referring to other members,” she added.
Mr Dutton swiftly apologised, using the correct title. “It was a very valid point madam deputy speaker and I am sorry I haven’t addressed you with the correct title,” he said.
But soon after, Mr Dutton went back to addressing the chair again as “Mr Speaker” four more times.
A visibly irked Ms Claydon then rebuked the leader of the opposition, saying “I am not Mr Speaker”, another warning Mr Dutton later ignores as he refers to the deputy speaker as “Mr Speaker” thrice again.
He was criticised on Twitter for failing to address the chair appropriately, in what people called a display of “rampant misogyny”.
“Pity that it was the long-suffering Sharon Claydon in the chair at the time,” wrote Twitter user Shiannon Corcoran.
“The man has the self-awareness and social skills of a brick.”
“I genuinely think that Peter Dutton and Angus Taylor repeatedly calling the Labour government’s deputy speaker Sharon Claydon ‘Mr Speaker’ is deliberate subtle sexist workplace bullying,” added Peter Murphy on Twitter.
“They should be warned once, then no longer allowed to speak.”
