Tony Smith becomes Speaker of the House

Australian government lawmakers have elected a new speaker of the House of Representatives after the previous speaker resigned over an expense scandal that has damaged Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s conservative government.

Victorian Liberal Member of Parliament Tony Smith was elected today, reported Xinhua.

In the final ballot, between Mr Smith and Mr Southcott, Mr Smith won 51 votes to 22.

But even once the transition from Bishop to Smith had officially been completed, the woman who stopped the nation with her penchant for short-haul aviation was on everyone’s minds.

He is expected to be a less divisive figure and has already said he would not be as heavy-handed, rather, fairer to both parties while in the position.

Smith has also promised not to attend party-room meetings.

Mr Smith told members that he wanted to preside over a fairer and more civil parliament following the high-profile resignation of Bronwyn Bishop last week due to the expenses saga.

In a clear signal of his determination to be more independent than predecessor Bronwyn Bishop, who was forced to resign over her use of entitlements, Smith told the House he would not be attending the weekly party meetings.

Hard on his heels are fellow Victorian Russell Broadbent and South Australian Andrew Southcott, with several MPs saying they were surprised by how much support Mr Broadbent was garnering.

Not only did Bishop succeed in making herself a target – it is hard to imagine choppergate would have developed the steam it did had Labor not hated her so – but parliament became, too often, a site of chaos, as the Opposition did everything it could to demonstrate its frustration.

The Speaker determines which members of the lower house may speak and is responsible for maintaining order during parliamentary debates.

“Leader of the house Christopher Pyne – who along with Abbott, dragged Bishop to the Speaker’s chair in 2013 – had some in the chamber gasping when he observed, “[Bishop] has been felled in most unfair circumstances”. Veteran Sydney MP Philip Ruddock did not contest.

Labor did not oppose Mr Smith’s nomination.

“In the course of your 15-year parliamentary career you have met with some disappointments,” he said.

“She has been a warrior for the causes that she believe in”.

“Whether the Speaker is a participant in the party room will be a matter for the Speaker”, he said.

Governments must be held to account and, to that end, they must be required to answer the questions that are asked of them in Parliament, not to engage in negative rants or drift into fatuous and irrelevant propaganda.

“Despite some admitted errors of judgment, she has served this parliament, our country, her party, with dedication and distinction for over 30 years”, Mr Abbott said.

Mr Smith said Parliament should be robust but did not have to be “rude or loud”.