Speaker asked to rule on Government intimidation

The Government is trying to obstruct Opposition MPs from doing their duty with constant denigration of Members who support taxpayer funded projects, Christopher Pyne, Manager of Opposition Business said tonight.

"Coalition Members supporting organisations seeking Federal funding or writing supporting letters to a Minister for grants and programs that are available to organisations, schools and businesses are being denigrated daily by the Prime Minister, or other senior Ministers in Question Time or the media for just performing their duties to their community," Mr Pyne said.

"This inhibits Members' ability to perform their duty and is a consequently a breach of privilege. I have referred the matter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives for consideration," he said.

"A Member of Parliament's duty to their electorate and their constituents transcends party political issues. Whether a political party supports a particular policy or not, representatives operating in the Westminster tradition are entitled to seek a fair distribution of taxpayer funds for their community.

"The Government must be blind to whether an electorate is represented by a Liberal, Labor, National or Independent member, and Members should be free from what amounts to bullying by the Government over the performance of their duties.

"It amounts to a prima facie case of intimidating Members of Parliament from carrying out their duty," Mr Pyne said.