Labor MPs fuel rowdy start to parliament

Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has booted out five Labor MPs in a rowdy start to parliamentary question time.

Petrol pump.

(AAP)

Five Labor MPs have been sin-binned in a rowdy first three minutes of question time.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten sparked the ruckus by referring to Prime Minister Tony Abbott as the "Bowser Bandit" - a nickname used in a Herald Sun newspaper headline.

The government sparked public outcry after it announced it would get around the Senate by using regulation to reintroduce regular fuel tax hikes, which are expected to cost average households 40 cents a week from November 10.

Leader of the House, Christopher Pyne, shot back saying "Electricity Bill" should know such terms are out of order.

Both MPs were warned by Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and withdrew their comments.

But Labor MPs waved photocopies of the Herald Sun banner in the chamber as Mr Shorten attempted to rephrase his question.

Ms Bishop called it a "deliberate and flagrant abuse" of her ruling on the use of props in parliament.

She expelled the Labor members for Wakefield and Griffith, as parliamentary officials collected the posters.

When three other Labor MPs - representing Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Blaxland - waved their posters they were also booted.

Mr Abbott said the fuel tax change was a budget measure revealed in the May.

"We did our best to get it past in one way and, given the unwillingness of members opposite to participate in the process of budget repair, we thought we'd do it a different way," he said.


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