“The public deserves to be absolutely confident taxpayers” money is not being abused.’.
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Ms Bishop, 72, has been a single-parent lawyer, a tireless local member, a champion of working mothers and the aged, a cult figure within the Liberal Party and a caricature outside it. But such outsize characters can have a tin ear to how things play with the audience.
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has announced the resignation of his Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop, after weeks of furore surrounding her grandiose use of taxpayer-funded travel perks.
Mr Abbott said Ms Bishop’s resignation was the right decision to take.
Mr Abbott said the review into the entitlements would be led by former head of the Department of Finance, David Tune, and the head of the Remuneration Tribunal, John Conde.
Bronwyn Bishop has faced fierce criticism since it emerged last month that she spent more than 5,000 Australian dollars (£2,337) to charter a helicopter for an 80-kilometre (50-mile) trip to a golf course to attend a fundraiser for the ruling Liberal Party, rather than drive the 90-minute route.
She apologised last week, some said belatedly, and voluntarily paid back the money.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced a “fundamental review” of the ministerial entitlements system would take place. “It’s become increasingly apparent…that there is a significant disconnect between what’s in the rules and community expectations”, he said.
Sunday was not the day to offer an appreciation of her long political career and contribution to public life, Mr Abbott said.
Following the announcement in Sydney this afternoon, Oakes said Mrs Bishop “brought this on herself” as “hiring that helicopter showed how out of touch she was”.
Largely unloved by the Australian people, or at least the Twitterverse, news of the Speaker’s exit was greeted with glee on social media. He said if you started throwing rocks, there wouldn’t be a person left in the parliament because everybody would have an issue somewhere in the past.
“Unfortunately Tony Abbott still won’t accept that Bronwyn Bishop has done anything wrong”, Mr Shorten said in a statement.
Bronwyn Bishop has tendered her resignation with the Governor-General.
On Wednesday, Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said fellow MP Clive Palmer would move a motion of no confidence and he would second it, if the Speaker did not stand down before parliament resumed on August 10.
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Revelations of her costly travel spending became a growing embarrassment for the Abbott government. She also vowed to refund travel expenses incurred for trips to colleagues’ weddings.
