Anthony Albanese has been accused of bullying by Federal MP Michelle Landry after she “left Question Time in tears”.
The Prime Minister was called out by Ms Landry who said she was left “intimidated, bullied and treated with disrespect”.
Ms Landry was questioning Mr Albanese if the government was going to delay $800m in Commonwealth funding to construct the Rockhampton Ring Rd in her electorate.
The prime minister began his response but instead confused Yeppen Floodplain with Yeppoon before opposition leader, Peter Dutton interjected to correct him.
The parliament got rowdy with Mr Albanese explaining that he was speaking about the Yeppen Floodplain with footage showing Ms Landry laughing.
Mr Albanese then yelled at the other side of parliament saying, “Queenslander…says it all. I know about Queensland roads because the Bruce Hwy under John Howard’s government put $1.3 billion in, we put $6.7 billion in in half the time.
“Including the Yeppen Floodplain, including planning the money for the Rockhampton Ring Rd.
“But when the government changed in 2013 it went on the backburner. So you were in government for almost a decade and you haven’t dug a hole on the project.”
Mr Albanese continued his response but after Question Time, Ms Landry accused the Prime Minister of bullying her after claiming she had to leave parliament.
“I did not expect the response I received from him and his colleagues. I felt intimidated and bullied,” Ms Landry said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time the Prime Minister has treated me with disrespect.”
Speaker of the House Milton Dick however refuted Ms Landry’s comments after reviewing footage saying she was not disrespected and did not leave parliament.
How on earth is this answer bullying, as the PM is now being accused of. He was asked a question, was interjected with a factually inaccurate comment and he dealt with it as he should have. Give me a break… 🙄🤯🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/kknRF7Ox6h #auspol
— Dr Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) October 27, 2022
“In reviewing the footage, I did not see the Prime Minister show any disrespect to the member for Capricornia,” Mr Dick said.
“As the footage was not on the member for Capricornia for the entire response, I did not see her leave the chamber. Of the footage I was able to review, she seemed engaged in the response from the Prime Minister.”
Ms Landry confirmed that Mr Albanese called to apologise but she demanded an apology in the House of Representatives.
“While I appreciate the gesture of calling me personally, it does not ignore the fact that he screamed, pointed, and yelled at me on a national stage,” she said.
“I am no shrinking violet, and I have been in politics for a long time. I respectfully ask the Prime Minister to publicly apologise to me in the House of Representatives.”
Images: Twitter
This article first appeared on OverSixty.