Australia PM Tony Abbott must tell Bronwyn Bishop to resign: Bill Shorten

Bronwyn Bishop has finally quit the speakership after weeks of revelations about her extravagant claims and the government has set up a sweeping review into the parliamentary entitlement system to quell public anger and get more clarity into the system.

Bronwyn Bishop has confronted fierce criticism after it emerged final month that she spent greater than $three, 650 to constitution a helicopter for an 80km journey to a golf course to attend a fundraiser for the ruling Liberal Celebration, relatively than drive the 90-minute route.

Bishop resigned from her position on Sunday, after the true extent of her obsession with lavish travel at the taxpayer’s expense had been revealed.

However, Mr Whiteley said he wrote to Mrs Bishop last week “to inform her directly of the views of my electorate and both their and my disappointment in the serious entitlement misjudgment”.

Bishop had said she will repay every dollar that’s overspent.

The Prime Minister maintained the obstinate defence of Mrs Bishop’s documented and free-wheeling use of taxpayer funds.

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

“But the truth is that the actions of Bronwyn Bishop and the inaction of Mr Abbott are now paralysing our government and our parliament”.

For evidence, look no further than the tweet above from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer will be calling for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker when parliament resumes in a week’s time and has also called on Abbott to show leadership.

The resignation of Bishop will be seen as a political scalp for the opposition Labor Party, which criticized her for being partisan in her role as enforcer of rules and procedures in parliament.

And while voters will welcome the spending review he announced today, Mr Abbott appeared to be saying that if Mrs Bishop was going down, everyone was going to suffer. The problem is the entitlements system more generally.

“These matters are now being reviewed by the Department of Finance and it would be inappropriate to continue commentary now this process is underway”, her office said in a statement.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he accepted Ms Bishop’s move.

“Mrs Bishop hasn’t resigned because it was the right thing to do, it was because she and Mr Abbott realised they had no other choice”.

“Regrettably, not withstanding rules that this government put in place… there are still too many situations where members of parliament can do things that are inside entitlement, but outside public expectations”, Abbott said while making announcement, according to The Guardian.