There have been howls of protest from New Zealand politicians after the Speaker of the House banned the use of the word "bugger". The Speaker, Jonathon Hunt, says the word is just not appropriate. The debate started when an Opposition Member of Parliament used the phrase "sweet bugger all". The Speaker immediately intervened and ruled the word bugger was unacceptable. Some MPs complained the Speaker was out of touch, but Mr Hunt would not budge. "I just think that doesn't add one jot to the appreciation of the English language and I intend to maintain standards," he said. Mr Hunt also admits he does not like the expression "diddly squat", though he will not be ruling it to be unparliamentary.
| I actually agree with Mr Hunt on this. There have to be some standards, or soon we'll be seeing pols standing up in the parliaments of the world calling each other crooks, beauzeaux, dumbschitz, and who knows what else. Anyone who cares diddly squat about parliamentary standards can see that... |
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