This hasn’t happened since 1994.

A bezerk Michael Cullen was booted out of the House today after a serious breach of Parliamentary discipline.

Cullen had stormed from the House in a remarkable display of bad temper. He was called back by Mr Speaker who sent the Sergeant of Arms to ensure that he returned. Dr Cullen then refused to apologise and the Speaker was forced to “name” Cullen. This is the most severe step available to the Speaker and it has the effect of suspending the miscreant MP from entering the chamber, from voting and from speaking.

“This is very serious. The last time it happened was in 1994 when Chris Carter, Labour Party MP for Te Atatu was named in 1994. Cullen is showing that he cannot cope with pressure. If he cannot manage his own temper, how could he possible manage if he was asked to manage the economy?” asked National Annabel Young MP.

Dr Cullen, who is the MP for Dunedin South, lives in Napier.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>