"Mate" Banned From Australian Parliament

[matcom]

<snip>

It may be Australia's universally accepted term of address but "mate" became a forbidden word in their parliament yesterday.

In an edict that lasted less than a day, parliamentary security staff were ordered to stop greeting visitors as "mate".

The daily brief circulated yesterday to the staff who screen visitors said officers were required "to treat any visitors to Parliament House with respect and courtesy and not address them as 'mate' or use similar colloquialisms".

The secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Hilary Penfold, last night described the wording as "unfortunate" and said today's brief "will take a rather different form".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3382973a4560,00.html

[MrScorpio]

1. Why do they hate Australia?

It seems so un-Australian

[tjwmason]

2. That's what happens when liberals get into power.

[shoelace414]

3. you mean passing a silly law then..

finding out it wasn't a good idea and then CHANGING YOUR MIND and repealing the silly law?

[tjwmason]

4. It was actually a pun on the differing uses of the term liberal

The Australian Liberal Party (which currently forms the government) is right-wing, and would ally itself with the Republicans - cf. comment above about hating Australia.

[no name no slogan]

5. Yeah, just like Japan's ruling "Liberal Democrats"

same goes for them-- fairly right-wing, even by American standards