Mr MARLES (Corio—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:56): My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, and I refer to his official statement on Saturday. Can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm he has served with the Prime Minister in the parliament for 15 years and he has served with the Prime Minister in the cabinet for six years, including as Deputy Prime Minister? When the Deputy Prime Minister says of the Prime Minister, 'He is a hypocrite and a liar from my observations and that is over a long time,' he knows what he's talking about, doesn't he? The SPEAKER: The challenge I have is that you can't just quote someone else who's using an unparliamentary term. I'm happy to hear from— Opposition members interjecting — The SPEAKER: To use the term 'liar' is unparliamentary, and there have been many examples where it has been ruled as unparliamentary. The fact that it is used as a quote by anyone—it doesn't matter who it is—doesn't negate the fact that it's unparliamentary and shouldn't be used. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: I really don't think I need to hear from you. Member for Corio, do you want to reword the question, if you want to be heard on that? Mr Burke: Just in terms of the precedents—and the Practice is clear about not being able to evade it by putting someone else's words in your mouth, in terms of the issue with quotations—we are dealing with something new here, where the quote using the unparliamentary language is from the very minister we are asking the question of. Of all the precedents, we haven't had that before, and it is reasonable for that to be tested in the House. The SPEAKER: I'm happy to hear from the Leader of the House. Mr Dutton: It's relevant because there was reference to a statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister, so we accept that point. But the assertion that this is somehow requiring a new ruling by you, the Speaker, is a nonsense and a concoction by the honourable member opposite. The reality is that the Practice is clear in relation to this; it can't be subverted. I think the ruling is clear, particularly given your words earlier. It doesn't need reinterpretation. It's a cute attempt to work around it, but it's without any substance. The SPEAKER: The Leader of the House will resume his seat. I'm going to rule on the issue. I'm not aware of a similar instance of this happening before, so, in my view, the precedents are very clear that you can't use a quote to correct an unparliamentary term, and that applies equally in this instance as it does at all times. I'm happy to allow the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to reword the question. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has the call. Mr MARLES: My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. I refer to his official statement on Saturday. Can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm he has served with the Prime Minister in the parliament for 15 years and he has served with the Prime Minister in the cabinet for six years, including as Deputy Prime Minister? So, when the Deputy Prime Minister made his observations about the Prime Minister, he knew exactly what he was talking about, didn't he?