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National

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused of bullying in Question Time by Queensland Coalition MP Michelle Landry

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been accused of bullying by Coalition MP Michelle Landry, who says she left Question Time feeling humiliated by his response to her question.

However, the speaker of the House of Representatives said he did not see Mr Albanese show Ms Landry any disrespect.

The exchange began when Ms Landry asked a question about funding for a project in her regional Queensland electorate of Capricornia. 

Mr Albanese mentioned the Yeppen Floodplain in his response, which prompted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, among others, to interject. 

They had attempted to correct the pronunciation of Yeppoon, a nearby coastal town, with a similar-sounding name. 

The PM seized on their mistake and directed his response to Mr Dutton, who is from Queensland. 

"Yeppoon is a different place," Mr Albanese said. 

"And you might want to ask the Member for Capricornia, because Yeppoon is on the coast, north of Rockhampton, and the [Yeppen] Floodplain is to the south."

Mr Albanese also yelled "Queenslander!" in the chamber, referring to the rugby league call made famous by Maroons' forward Billy Moore.

Coalition MP Michelle Landry says she was humiliated by the PM.

Ms Landry said she left the Question Time distressed, and later fronted a press conference to condemn what she described as bullying behaviour in parliament.

"I really do not appreciate being spoken to, and screamed at, by the Prime Minister as I was today," she said.

"I asked a question, which I've talked to a lot of you about — the ring road in Rockhampton — and I feel that I've been humiliated by him and by the Labor Party."

She said Mr Albanese called her afterwards and said his comments were directed at Mr Dutton and that he did not mean to upset her. 

"Well, he had a yell at Peter Dutton but he was looking at me, and he was screaming at me, and pointing at me," she said. 

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said Mr Albanese had previously said he wanted parliament to be a kinder, gentler place. 

"This is an incredibly distressing experience for Michelle," Ms Ley said.

"And there were others in the chamber who heard it, who felt it, and who really, really didn't like it."

Speaker Milton Dick later reviewed the footage and said he did not see Mr Albanese show any disrespect towards Ms Landry. 

"During the answer, the prime minister was also directly responding to interjections from the leader of the opposition," Mr Dick said.

"In reviewing the footage, I did not see the prime minister show any disrespect to the member for Capricornia."

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