Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband) Share this | Hansard source

I raised a point of order on the minister for climate change describing the opposition leader as having acted 'mendaciously'. My point was that 'mendaciously' means 'lyingly' and that the use of 'mendaciously' should therefore be objectionable. Your ruling was that it was only disorderly to use the word 'lie'. I respectfully draw to your attention that the House of Representatives Practice says:

… examples of expressions which are unparliamentary—

Citing May, which is the UK equivalent of the Practice, include—

the imputation of false or unavowed motives;

… … …

charges of uttering a deliberate falsehood …

So, if I say that someone is mendacious, I am charging that they have uttered a deliberate falsehood. That is what mendacious means. The Practice goes on to say:

An accusation that a Member has lied or deliberately misled is clearly an imputation of an improper motive. Such words are ruled out of order and Members making them ordered to withdraw their remarks.

That is at page 516 of the Practice.

I do not think that this place will be held in high regard if it is objectionable to say, 'The honourable member has lied,' but not objectionable to say, 'The honourable member has acted mendaciously.' These two sentences are completely synonymous, and—with great respect to you, Madam Speaker—the remarks of the minister were equally objectionable whether he used the word 'lie' or the word 'mendacious', and they should have been withdrawn. I ask you to rule on this—at your leisure, of course.

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