Australia’s House speaker quits over travel expense scrutiny

The scandal has none of the lordly sleaze of cocaine, prostitutes and orange bras, but Bronwyn Bishop’s extravagant misuse of travel expenses should be politically fatal nonetheless.

In a press conference today, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Bishop had tendered her resignation to Governor General Peter Cosgrove, after weeks of scrutiny over her use of travel entitlements.

“The public deserves to be absolutely confident taxpayers’ money is not being abused”.

Mr Abbott announced a fundamental review of MPs entitlements.

Having recognised this, and presumably advised Bishop on the course she would reluctantly take, Abbott could not bring himself to criticise her conduct on Sunday, which made for an awkward and unconvincing appearance before the cameras.

‘It won’t just be tinkering with the system, ‘ he told reporters in Sydney.

“It is because of my love and respect for the institution of parliament and the Australian people that I have resigned as Speaker”. “I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Mackellar”.

“I think we should also be grateful that something has been done here that will resolve this vexed question of entitlements, as far is humanly possible once and for all”, he said.

Bronwyn Bishop has faced fierce criticism since it emerged last month that she spent more than 5,000 Australian dollars ($3,650) to charter a helicopter for an 80-kilometer (50-mile) trip to a golf course to attend a fundraiser for the ruling Liberal Party, rather than drive the 90-minute route.

Bishop, whose expense claims over the past 10 years are already the subject of a Department of Finance inquiry, will retain her parliamentary seat. Last week she issued a grovelling apology, which Labor rejected as hollow.

“This has obviously been a very hard day for Bronwyn Bishop“, Mr Abbott said.

Abbott stopped short of saying Bishop had committed any wrongdoing and refused to comment on whether she should have left her position earlier.

“Without wanting to underplay the significance of some of the errors of judgement which she herself has conceded and apologise for, I think she’s certainly done the right thing”, he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the Speaker’s resignation was “overdue” and the prime minister’s continued defence showed the Government was “unrepentant”. Prime Minister Tony Abbott may not want to pull support from a combative Speaker on whom he partly modelled his own career, but he must defuse the situation somehow before Parliament resumes.