An Australian party leader is being criticized after repeatedly referring to Deputy Speaker Sharon Claydon as “Sig. Speaker” in parliament on Thursday while debating an energy relief bill.

Peter Dutton, the leader of Australia’s opposition party, referred to Claydon as “Sig. Speaker” early on in remarks, saying it at least three times before Claydon called him out.

“I’m just going to interrupt you,” Claydon, 58, disse. “You continue to call me Mr. Speaker and I’ve given it a long reign. You need to use my correct title and when you’re referring to other members also.”

“That is a very valid point, Madam Deputy Speaker,” Dutton said, adding that he was “sorry.”

But even after that exchange, Dutton, 52, continued referring to Claydon as “Mister” throughout his speech — using the wrong title at least 18 times in total, according to footage shared by Il guardiano.

“I am not Mr. Speaker,” Claydon could be heard saying, as Dutton continued his remarks.

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Claydon, a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives, has represented the Division of Newcastle in New South Wales since September 2013. She was was chosen as the party’s nominee for deputy speaker of the House of Representatives in 2022.

Dutton, nel frattempo, has served as leader of the center-right Liberal Party since May 2022. In 2016, è stato caught up in controversy for mistakenly sending an offensive text message to a journalist in which he called the writer a “mad f—ing witch.”

In a statement issued after, Dutton said he and the writer had “exchanged some robust language over the years, so we had a laugh after this and I apologized to her straight away which she took in good faith.”