Gerry Brownlee has been publicly criticised over his inaction, in a move that breaks with Parliamentary convention

Parliament's been wound up in a debate that on the surface looks trivial, but really centres around the bullying and harassment of an MP.

The Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee is under fire for perceived inconsistencies in his rulings and letting trivial matters stop politicians answering questions in Parliament.

On the surface this looks like a debate over laptop stickers and lapel badges.

But underlying it is a complaint by the ACT Party that the MP fronting some of its most unpopular policies - Children's Minister Karen Chhour - is being singled out for bullying and abuse, and Parliament's referee is letting the opposition get away with it.

Frustrations have boiled over to the extent that Act leader David Seymour has broken with convention to criticise Brownlee in public, saying his confidence in him is falling by the day.

The speaker has hit back, warning MPs he plans to adopt a sterner approach to Parliamentary culture.

Former MP and political commentator Peter Dunne says that under standing orders the only way you can criticise the speaker is to move a formal vote of no confidence in them, which means a debate in the House.

"That would be going too far," he tells The Detail. "But the fact that Seymour has gone public with his criticisms suggests to me two things - one is that he's failed privately to persuade the speaker to change his view; and secondly, there's obviously a measure of deep frustration within the ACT Party about how things are panning out for them."

As to the bullying complaint, Dunne points out that the speaker can only rule on what happens inside Parliament, not outside in the corridors, where Chhour says she's being attacked.

"A lot of the work the speaker does is behind the scenes - getting the parties together and talking through the issues, and talking through expectations of behaviour.

"I think that's the sort of thing that needs to happen."

"It's a tough job, and a lonely job," says Dunne.

"And the speaker will always come under fire from one side or the other who feel he's not quite seeing things their way. That's part and parcel of the job but I think part of the difficulty at the moment is there appears to be one or two inconsistencies in some of the things that Gerry Brownlee is ruling upon and that always gets under a party's skin, if they feel that not only are they getting the wrong end of the deal, but also that it's not the same deal that applies to everyone else." …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details