14 May 2025

Brooke Van Velden says c-word in Parliament in protest

From Checkpoint, 4:41 pm on 14 May 2025

The Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden has dropped the c-bomb in Parliament in protest over the slur being directed at her and other female ministers in a newspaper column. It's thought to be the first time the word has been recorded in the debating chamber. It comes after a Sunday Star-Times opinion piece used the word in connection to female ministers overhauling the pay equity scheme.