Rudd's F-word 'part of politics'

CANBERRA - Reports that Labor MPs were horrified at Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's use of the F-word are amusing, a cabinet minister says.

A number of backbench factional leaders copped expletives when they visited the prime minister's parliament house office to object to plans to cut politicians' annual printing allowances by 25 percent to $75,000.

Mr Rudd said in the presence of three female MPs: "I don't care what you f***ers think", News Limited has reported.

He later told another senator: "You can get f***ed".

The Prime Minister did not deny he swore when asked about the issue in New York today (Australian time).

Asked about the incident, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said politics is a robust business.

"One of the amusing things in the article was the suggestion that Labor backbenchers might have been horrified at someone swearing at them," Mr Tanner told ABC Television on Sunday.

"The truth is that politics, whether it's on our side or the other side, is a robust business where exchanges of views can sometimes be laced with less than polite descriptions - that's life.

"These discussions can sometimes be robust and all I can say is 'Let he who is without sin cast the first line'."

Mr Tanner said previous allowances were too loose, ambiguous and open to being misused.

"We have clamped down on that vigorously and inevitably a few toes have been trodden on," he said.

"We make no apologies for that."

- AAP