Summary
That’s about it from us this evening. The coming days will be filled with speculation about who will be appointed Speaker, but for now here’s where we’re at:
- The prime minister, Tony Abbott, announced this afternoon that Bronwyn Bishop had written to the governor general to tender her resignation as Speaker. She will stay on as a backbencher.
- Abbott said Bishop’s resignation had nothing to do with her doing anything wrong per se, but said it was instead an indication that the whole parliamentary expenses system was wrong.
- To that end, there will be a root and branch review of the expenditure system, to make sure MPs can no longer make claims that are technically lawful but considered ridiculous by the public, such as spending $1,000 in one day on chartered limousines because they can ride in the bus lane.
- Bishop later confirmed her resignation in her own statement, saying she had resigned out of “love and respect” for the Australian people.
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Bill Shorten says Labor is open to the idea of an expenses review, but thinks Abbott only proposed it to deflect attention from Bishop’s expense claims and would like it duly noted that his attention is not deflected.
- General consensus is that a new, less biased Speaker would be a very good thing.
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Here’s a handy timeline of the expenses saga, in case you’re having trouble keeping track.
And finally we have a minister showing support for Bronwyn Bishop following her resignation as speaker.
Unsurprisingly, it’s Christopher Pyne. Barnaby Joyce got in early with his show of support on Sky News this morning.
Bronwyn Bishop was an excellent Speaker, is a great friend and remains a valued colleague.
— Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) August 2, 2015
The remainder of the frontbench is showing support by refraining from sarcastically taking public transport.
As Tony Abbott said at this afternoon’s press conference:
This has obviously been a very difficult day for Bronwyn Bishop. It has been a very difficult day for Bronwyn Bishop. And I think we should respect the fact that it has been a very difficult day for Bronwyn Bishop.
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There seems to be some division in Labor camps about whether they actually support the proposed expenses review.
Gillard government minister Craig Emerson, who resigned from parliament at the 2013 election, seems to think its not.
Effect of PM's review will be to expunge all other fraudulent claims on basis that his colleagues were victims of vague guidelines.
— Craig Emerson (@DrCraigEmerson) August 2, 2015
But as my colleague Shalailah Medora pointed out, Bill Shorten said they would consider it. His statement of just over an hour ago said:
Labor is up for a review of the entitlements system to ensure it is consistent with community expectations.
This doesn’t not absolve Mr Abbott of releasing the findings of the Finance Department’s investigation into Mrs Bishop’s alleged misuse of entitlements publicly.
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If you’re still confused about the existing rules for parliamentary expenses, join the club.
As Lenore Taylor explains here, “the take home message is there are no rules”.
She writes:
So in the eyes of the law, politicians who do the wrong thing, or push the boundaries, can get away with almost anything. The only brake is the court of public opinion, if they get caught.
That’s basically Tony Abbott’s argument, although in his case it has the added benefit of not having to say publicly that a member of his government did anything wrong.
As some pointed out, the government is not always so forgiving of mucking up the paperwork.
Memo PM: if you're looking for a sanction for Bronwyn Bishop, just apply the same rules you do to a Centrelink recipient who stuffs up.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) August 2, 2015
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Nick Xenophon, the independent South Australian senator, has drafted a bill governing parliamentary expenses based on a system introduced in the UK to deal with expenses scandals over there.
He welcomed today’s announcement of a review but said he didn’t think it would have the “teeth” of his proposed legislation, which includes making MP’s pay back twice what they owe on any disallowed claims.
He’s also accused Labor of playing politics by not supporting his bill, saying:
The risk here is that the opposition will crow about Bronwyn Bishop resigning, when the big picture is that the whole system of parliamentary entitlements must be fundamentally reformed.
This is not about Bishop – it’s about taxpayers being treated as pawns by both sides
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This is the third time in four years that the Australian parliament has suddenly lost its Speaker, and the second time it lost a Speaker to an expenses scandal.
Hopefully past Tony Abbott has some helpful advice for present-day Tony Abbott to help him weather this storm. He made this comment at the departure of Harry Jenkins in 2011.
The Speaker's resignation reflects a government that is in chaos. The Govt has lost its way, lost its majority and now lost its speaker.
— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) November 24, 2011
Never mind.
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As to who the next Speaker should be, the internet recommendation engine appears to be highly favouring Dr Sharman Stone as a long-serving female Liberal MP who is a good bit less controversial than Bishop.
Fairfax’s Mark Kenny has given her the nod, calling her the “ideal choice” for her recent declaration that question time was “rubbish”. He also threw Teresa Gambaro and Jane Prentice into the ring.
Stone also had support from the opposition benches:
How about @SharmanStone or @JanePrentice_MP for Speaker - intelligent, experienced, decent Liberal women, would be an ornament to Parliament
— Alannah MacTiernan (@AlannahMac) August 2, 2015
And then there are wildcard nominations:
I think we should aim high and try to get Morgan Freeman as Speaker. He has the best narration voice around... him or @StephenFry, maybe?
— Luke L Pearson (@IndigenousX) August 2, 2015
My vote would be for James Earl Jones, but at 84 he is 14 years past the mandatory retirement age for high court judges which, applying Kenny’s rule, makes him seven times more inappropriate than Philip Ruddock or Bruce Scott.
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Guardian Australia’s political editor, Lenore Taylor, who spent much of the past week fossicking through Bronwyn Bishop’s expenses claims to find 15 other trips the former Speaker had claimed as “committee business” without the knowledge of said committee, has weighed in.
She writes that while it’s right to by cynical about both Bishop’s resignation and Tony Abbott’s sudden concern about the rules governing expenses, some good could come from both.
She resigned, belatedly and reluctantly, for purely political reasons – because the Abbott government had run out of all other options and the prime minister was paying too high a personal price to continue to protect her.
But the damage from the whole affair and inevitable scrutiny of her successor might just mean they take a more even-handed approach to the job. The Coalition might even make good its pre-election promises that the Speaker should be truly independent, refrain from attending party room meetings (and presumably also party fundraisers).
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The independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has also put out a statement celebrating Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation. It opens strongly:
Thank God for that.
I’m inclined to think it would have been nice to end it there, Albo-style, but Wilkie continues:
Watching this saga unfold was worse than getting your wisdom teeth out.
Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation is overdue and must not be the end of action taken against her in particular. The Member for Mackellar’s misuse of entitlements is of remarkable proportions and must be investigated by the Australian Federal Police to find out if criminal fraud has occurred.
But the Prime Minister is wrong to suggest that this comes down to the gap between current entitlements and community expectations. The fact is that the current entitlements rules do not allow a Member or Senator to go somewhere principally for private reasons and then to certify it as an official trip. To do so is fraud.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten is not satisfied with Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation, and has upgraded his rhetoric from an expenses scandal to a “saga”. That may be warranted.
Here’s his statement:
The resignation of Mrs Bishop from the position of Speaker, like her apology, was overdue and unrepentant.
Unfortunately Tony Abbott still won’t accept that Bronwyn Bishop has done anything wrong.
Mr Abbott has blamed the system, but it was Mrs Bishop’s addiction to privilege that was the real culprit.
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.
As I have consistently said throughout this saga, Labor is up for a review of the entitlements system to ensure it is consistent with community expectations.
This doesn’t not absolve Mr Abbott of releasing the findings of the Finance Department’s investigation into Mrs Bishop’s alleged misuse of entitlements publicly.”
Bronwyn Bishop also holds the record as the longest-serving female parliamentarian, which she cracked in October last year.
Here’s Shalailah Medhora with a few more highlights from Bishop’s 27-years (and counting) in parliament:
She quickly gained a reputation for her forthright and sometimes confrontational style of cross-examination in Senate estimate committees and fiery chamber performances.
“I’m reminded in fact of the exchange I heard recently in parliament house when someone said, ‘Why do so many people take an instant dislike to Senator Bishop?’ to which the answer was, ‘It saves time,’ ” the then foreign minister, Gareth Evans, quipped during a debate in 1992.
You can read Shalailah’s full piece here.
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Before we get to speculation about who will be the successor to the speaker’s chair, let’s have a moment of silence for Bronwyn Bishop’s frankly impressive record for ejecting opposition MP’s under standing order 94A.
At last count, as tallied by manager of opposition business Tony Burke, she had expelled Labor MP’s on 393 occasions, and coalition MP’s on just seven.
Her time was cut short - but Madame Speaker's 94A record will take a hell of a lot of catching.
— Charles Croucher (@ccroucher9) August 2, 2015
Looking to twitter, there seems to be a bit of skepticism about the whole, “it’s not Bronwyn, it’s the system” line.
Good to see it's not really anything to do with the speaker that has caused the speaker to resign...
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) August 2, 2015
a welcome review of entitlements oh and by the way Bronwyn has resigned. Hounded out of office by ingrates.
— Paul Bongiorno (@PaulBongiorno) August 2, 2015
Tony Abbott said the hammering Bronwyn Bishop received over her expenses claims exposed a problem with the system, rather than a problem with the way people might use the system.
Abbott:
Plainly the system that we have is deficient.
The public deserves to be absolutely confident taxpayers’ money is not being abused.
Abbott told reporters it would “not be a quickie review” but would instead be a “very wide ranging review indeed.”
Here’s AAP with a bit more:
The review will be carried out by former Finance Department head David Tune and head of the Remuneration Tribunal John Conde.
Mr Abbott insisted the review would not be a “quickie” but declined to give a specific time frame.
The prime minister refused to divulge details of his conversation with Mrs Bishop, who he acknowledged as one of his friends.
“This has obviously been a very difficult day for Bronwyn Bishop,” Mr Abbott said.
Clive Palmer, who has been campaigning for Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation as speaker for the past four days and even started a petition in the name of #RealDemocracy, is very pleased with this afternoon’s development.
Congratulations #BronwynBishop for finally listening to Australian public & resigning as #Speaker #byebyebronwyn #auspoI
— Clive Palmer (@CliveFPalmer) August 2, 2015
Bronwyn Bishop’s office has released this statement:
I have today written to the governor general and tendered my resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives effective immediately. I have not taken this decision lightly, however it is because of my love and respect for the institution of the parliament and the Australian people that I have resigned as Speaker.
I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Mackellar as their local member, the job that has always been my first responsibility despite other positions I have held within the parliament.
Updated
Tony Abbott was careful not to criticise his “friend and colleague” in that brief press conference this afternoon, saying:
What has become apparent is the problem is not any one particular person, the problem is the rules. So the problem is not with the people that make excessive expenses claims; the problem is that expenses claims can be made.
Abbott continued:
Clearly we have a situation where spending is arguably inside the rules but plainly outside of community expectations.
Updated
Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation follows weeks of embarrassing stories about her somewhat grandiose expenses claims, beginning with the revelation that she had spent more than $5,000 on a helicopter from Melbourne to Geelong to attend a Liberal party function.
My colleague, Shalailah Medhora, has summarised things here.
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Good afternoon and welcome to this special Sunday edition of Politics Live to mark the resignation of Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The prime minister, Tony Abbott, announced the member for Mackellar’s resignation a few minutes ago.
And here we go...
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