Australian government lawmakers on Monday August 10,2015 elected a new speaker of the
House of Representatives after the previous speaker Bronwyn Bishop resigned over an
expense scandal that has damaged Prime Minister Tony Abbott's
conservative government.
The new speaker Tony Smith defeated his nearest challenger Andrew
Southcott in a ballot of ruling Liberal Party lawmakers 51 votes to 22.
Tony Smith's selection was later formally endorsed by the House of Representatives, where the government holds a clear majority.
Bronwyn Bishop(72) was regarded as one of the most blatantly
partisan speakers to preside over the House of Representatives in its
114-year history. Since she first took the chair in November 2013, she
has expelled opposition lawmakers on 393 occasions for misbehavior and
government lawmakers on seven occasions. Despite her relatively short
tenure, no speaker has expelled more lawmakers.
Bronwyn Bishopwas the choice of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who once
described himself as the "ideological love child" of Bishop and John
Howard, the second-longest serving prime minister in Australian history
and the last conservative prime minister before Abbott
Bronwyn Bishop had a long history for making excessive or questionable travel
expense claims. She resigned last week in the face of fierce criticism
after it emerged that she spent more than AU$5,000 ($3,700) to charter a
helicopter for an 80-kilometer (50-mile) trip to a golf course to
attend a fundraiser for the ruling party, rather than drive the
90-minute route.
Bronwyn Bishop apologized for what she called the "ridiculous" expense and
repaid the money. But scrutiny over her other travel expenses continued,
including claims that she charged taxpayers for travel costs associated
with trips to attend weddings. She said she would repay those expenses
as well.
The Finance Department is investigating whether she violated any rules.
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