Bronwyn Bishop reportedly claimed $6,000 for trip by private plane

Guardian staff and wires Saturday 1 August 2015

The Speaker is under further pressure as revelations emerge that she hired a corporate aircraft to travel from Sydney to Nowra for a Liberal party fundraiser

Bronwyn Bishop is under further pressure over the use of taxpayer-funded travel allowances. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Bronwyn Bishop reportedly spent more than $6,000 to hire a luxury corporate aircraft to transport her 160km from Sydney to Nowra – a journey of just over two hours by car.

The trip, to attend a Liberal party fundraiser in Berry, came two weeks after the Speaker controversially took a helicopter ride from Melbourne to Geelong, News Corp Australia reports.

Bishop was forced into an apology after it was revealed she charged taxpayers more than $5000 for the trip to a fundraising event.

Bishop’s chief of staff, Damien Jones, would not comment on the cost of the Nowra flight, which took place last year.

“I haven’t looked at the costs so I can’t comment. My discussions will be directly with the Department of Finance,” he told News Corp.

When Jones was asked by News Corp if the company that provided the aircraft to Nowra was the same one that provided the helicopter between Melbourne and Geelong, he said: “It could well have been. I don’t have that information.”

He said the aircraft was a propeller plane, not a corporate jet.

Tony Abbott has indicated he could consider further changes to the rules governing parliamentary entitlements following the controversy over the Speaker’s use of chartered helicopter and her travel claims.

“I think if there is one lesson that every single politician must have had reinforced by all of this, it is that you cannot get away with exploiting the rules,” the prime minister said.

“We have already significantly tightened up the rules. We banned politicians travelling overseas first class, we’ve heavily limited family travel inside Australia and overseas, we’ve banned immediate family employment,” he said on Sydney radio on Friday.

“As for Bronny, she’s repaid the money with penalties. She is obviously deeply remorseful, anyone who saw her on television yesterday would know that this is a very, very chastened person indeed.”

Bishop, who is under increasing pressure to stand aside as Speaker over the travel claim controversy, said on Thursday she would repay travel allowance and airfare claims made on some of the dates, which she has said were justified because of secret meetings with unnamed sources associated with her committee work, but which also coincided with the interstate weddings of two Liberal colleagues.

She has said the claims were “technically within the guidelines” but “didn’t look right” and revealed she had asked the finance department to review all her travel claims.

After three weeks of refusing to apologise, Bishop said on Thursday she was “sorry” for “letting the Australian people down” over the travel claims and controversial helicopter flight.

The Department of Finance is reviewing all of Bishop’s expense claims over the past decade. Abbott said while his government had already tightened the rules, there may be more changes to come.

“Let’s see what else might emerge out of the review that’s going on now,” he said.

One Liberal backbencher, Brett Whiteley, has written to the Speaker expressing the concerns of his Tasmanian electorate about the expenses revelations.

“The community is understandably angry about this issue. Everyone makes mistakes, including members of parliament, and I am pleased to hear the Speaker’s genuine apology on commercial radio,” he told the Hobart Mercury on Thursday. “I have written to the Speaker to inform her directly of the views of my electorate, and both their and my disappointment in the serious entitlement misjudgement.”

• Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

Bronwyn Bishop reportedly claimed $6,000 for 160km trip by private plane | Australia news | The Guardian

Labor's Tony Burke threatens parliamentary payback

By political reporter Anna Henderson Friday 31 July 2015

Photo: Labor has stepped up its parliamentary threats if House of Representatives Speaker Bronwyn Bishop does not resign. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)

Related Story: Bishop saga shows politicians cannot exploit rules: Abbott

Labor has ratcheted up its threats about causing disruption when Federal Parliament resumes, warning that if Bronwyn Bishop remains in the Speaker's chair cooperation across the dispatch box will evaporate.

Tony Burke, the manager of opposition business, said Labor would continue to press for Mrs Bishop to resign despite her apology yesterday.

Earlier this week Mr Burke said Labor would no longer respect the Speaker when she tried to chair proceedings.

Now he has broadened that to all cooperation between the two major parties, apart from parliamentary motions to mark the loss of life.

"Whatever level of goodwill and cooperation has been there in the past will apply to condolence motions and absolutely nothing else," Mr Burke told ABC's Capital Hill program.

"Any level of cooperation that the Government ordinarily relies on is gone if we have a situation where Bronwyn Bishop's still in the chair."

Mr Burke said he would not flag specific manoeuvres in advance.

"You don't flag your tactics in advance because then the Government's onto it straight away."

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has told the ABC Mr Burke "is essentially saying he will hold his breath until he gets his way in the manner of a two-year-old."

"It's a pathetic and embarrassing comment from Labor and if they attempt to carry out this silly threat they will be displaying their own petulance and unfitness for government," Mr Pyne said.

"As Manager of Opposition Business, despite the circus atmosphere under the previous Government, I always did my best to cooperate on the procedural operations of the House, because at the end of the day we're elected to Parliament to do the best we can for the Australian people."

Both Abbott and Bishop standing firm

Mrs Bishop has rebuffed calls for her resignation following revelations of her decision to charge taxpayers for a $5,227 helicopter charter and other allowances she claimed around the times she attended a number of weddings.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said her apology showed that she was deeply remorseful and the Speaker is holding firm, maintaining she will not resign.

"She's repaid the money with penalties, she is obviously deeply remorseful," Mr Abbott told radio station 2SM.

"Anyone who saw her on television yesterday would know that this is a very, very chastened person indeed."

The Department of Finance is conducting an investigation into the taxpayer-funded helicopter trip and is reviewing Mrs Bishop's entitlements claims over the past decade.

The department has issued a statement saying it would not comment on dealings with individual MPs or the outcomes of matters being assessed that relate to politicians' expenses.

Labor has written to the Special Minister of State, Michael Ronaldson, asking him to direct the department to make the findings of the investigation public.

The Opposition has also written to the Speaker arguing that if she was truly sorry she should insist the findings be made public.

Mrs Bishop has been threatened with a no-confidence motion when Parliament resumes in just over a week.

One of the instigators of the motion, Clive Palmer, said Mrs Bishop should resign because of her age and her partisan approach in Question Time.

More on this story:

• Politicians cannot get away with exploiting rules: Tony Abbott
• Bronwyn Bishop 'considering her position' ahead of Parliament return: Julie Bishop
• Bronwyn Bishop must show proof she did not misuse travel entitlements to attend wedding: Opposition
• Bronwyn Bishop defends taxpayer-funded travel to colleague Sophie Mirabella's wedding as 'official business'
• Bronwyn Bishop 'on probation' over taxpayer-funded helicopter trip: Tony Abbott
• Tony Abbott warns Bronwyn Bishop: 'No errors in the future' after $5,000 chopper ride
• Bronwyn Bishop should stand aside over 'arrogant misuse' of taxpayer-funded travel: Bill Shorten
• Federal Opposition 'very concerned' about investigation into Bronwyn Bishop's travel entitlements

Labor's Tony Burke threatens parliamentary payback if Bronwyn Bishop remains as Speaker - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

These are the 15 trips Bronwyn Bishop claimed

Lenore Taylor and Shalailah Medhora Friday 31 July 2015

The claims, amounting to $3,723, cover three separate inquiries of the standing committee on families and human services

Bronwyn Bishop claimed $3,723 in travel allowances as chair of a committee for times and places when records indicate the committee was not conducting hearings. Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAPIMAGE

Bronwyn Bishop claimed travel allowances as the chair of a parliamentary committee on 15 separate occasions for times and places when records indicate the committee was not conducting hearings, a review of historic travel claims reveals.

Tony Abbott signals further tightening of parliamentary entitlements rules

Following revelations about Speaker Bronwyn Bishop’s misuse of public money, the prime minister warns MPs ‘you cannot get away with exploiting the rules’

Read more

The claims, amounting to $3,723, cover three separate inquiries of the standing committee on families and human services, and are listed here.

Inquiry into adoption of children from overseas

• 25 July 2005 Brisbane $255
• 13 August 2005 Gold Coast $212
• 19 August 2005 Townsville $178
• 24 August 2005 Brisbane $255
• 20 October 2005 Brisbane $263

Inquiry into balancing work and family

• 22 February 2006 in Whyalla $186
• 26 March 2006 in Melbourne $280
• 7 June 2006 Adelaide $263
• 24 August 2006 Melbourne $280
• 31 August 2006 Gold Coast $228
• 1 September 2006 Brisbane $288
• 10 December 2006 Brisbane $285

Inquiry into impact of illicit drug use on families

• 15 April 2007 Brisbane $$288
• 11 May 2007 Adelaide $268
• 24 August 2007 Bathurst $194

Tony Abbott has indicated he could consider further changes to the rules governing parliamentary entitlements following the controversy over the Speaker’s use of chartered helicopter and her travel claims.

“I think if there is one lesson that every single politician must have had reinforced by all of this, it is that you cannot get away with exploiting the rules,” the prime minister said.

“We have already significantly tightened up the rules. We banned politicians travelling overseas first class, we’ve heavily limited family travel inside Australia and overseas, we’ve banned immediate family employment,” he said on Sydney radio on Friday.

As for Bronny, she’s repaid the money with penalties.

Tony Abbott

“As for Bronny, she’s repaid the money with penalties. She is obviously deeply remorseful, anyone who saw her on television yesterday would know that this is a very, very chastened person indeed.”

Bishop, who is under increasing pressure to stand aside as Speaker over the travel claim controversy, said on Thursday she would repay travel allowance and airfare claims made on some of the dates, which she has said were justified because of secret meetings with unnamed sources associated with her committee work, but which also coincided with the interstate weddings of two Liberal colleagues.

She has said the claims were “technically within the guidelines” but “didn’t look right” and revealed she had asked the finance department to review all her travel claims.

After three weeks of refusing to apologise, Bishop said on Thursday she was “sorry” for “letting the Australian people down” over the travel claims and controversial helicopter flight.

Labor has questioned whether it is in fact “within the guidelines” for committee chairs to claim travel allowances or flights to conduct solo meetings that are not part of properly constituted committee hearings or meetings.

Bronwyn Bishop expenses row: historic claims reveal another 15 trips

With the Speaker under increasing pressure to stand aside, further claims reveal that as a committee chair she claimed travel benefits even when the committee was not conducting hearings

Read more

But the rules appear unclear. A remuneration tribunal determination on allowances from 2006 states “the chair of a parliamentary committee shall be paid travelling allowance in respect of each overnight stay in a place other than his or her home base when travelling on parliamentary committee business”. Parliamentary committee business is not defined.

The Department of Finance is reviewing all of Bishop’s expense claims over the past decade. Abbott said while his government had already tightened the rules, there may be more changes to come.

“Let’s see what else might emerge out of the review that’s going on now,” he said.

One Liberal backbencher, Brett Whiteley, has written to the Speaker expressing the concerns of his Tasmanian electorate about the expenses revelations.

“The community is understandably angry about this issue. Everyone makes mistakes, including members of parliament, and I am pleased to hear the Speaker’s genuine apology on commercial radio,” he told the Hobart Mercury on Thursday. “I have written to the Speaker to inform her directly of the views of my electorate, and both their and my disappointment in the serious entitlement misjudgement.”

Labor’s spokesman on waste, Pat Conroy, has written to the special minister of state, Michael Ronaldson, asking him to direct the Department of Finance to release the findings of its investigation into Bishop’s expenses.

“While I accept that confidentiality may be appropriate in routine cases, given the extraordinary circumstances, and the extraordinary public interest, I ask that you direct your department to make the findings of its investigation public in this particular instance,” Conroy wrote.

“Publication of the investigation’s findings would also help reassure the public that the investigation has not been compromised, nor that the government has sought to cover up this matter in any way.”

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, described Bishop’s apology as “too little, too late”.

“The job is more serious than the way Ms Bishop has been treating it,” he told reporters on Friday. “There is a born-to-rule mentality in parts of Mr Abbott’s Liberals which show how out of touch they are with the expectation of Australians.”

These are the 15 trips Bronwyn Bishop claimed when hearings were not held | Australia news | The Guardian

Bronwyn Bishop expenses row: historic claims reveal another 15 trips

Lenore Taylor and Shalailah Medhora Thursday 30 July 2015

With the Speaker under increasing pressure to stand aside, further claims reveal that as a committee chair she claimed travel benefits even when the committee was not conducting hearings

On Thursday, after three weeks of refusing to apologise, Bronwyn Bishop said she was ‘sorry’ for ‘letting the Australian people down’ over travel claims. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Bronwyn Bishop claimed taxpayer-funded travel benefits for her work as a committee chairwoman on more than 15 occasions for times and places when the committee was not conducting hearings, a review of historic travel claims reveals.

Bishop, who is under increasing pressure to stand aside as Speaker over the travel claim controversy, said on Thursday she would repay claims made for secret meetings with unnamed sources associated with her committee work, which coincided with the interstate weddings of two Liberal colleagues.

Saying sorry shouldn't be a tactic, Bronwyn Bishop, it should be a feeling

Lenore Taylor

The Speaker seems to be apologising for the look of what she did rather than for the actions themselves – three weeks after the initial revelations

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She said the claims were “technically within the guidelines” but “didn’t look right” and revealed she had asked the Department of Finance to review all her travel claims.

After three weeks of refusing to apologise, said she was “sorry” for “letting the Australian people down” over the travel claims and controversial helicopter flight.

Labor has questioned whether it is in fact “within the guidelines” for committee chairs to claim travel allowances or flights to conduct solo meetings that are not part of properly constituted committee hearings or meetings.

And a review of Bishop’s claims reveals at least 15 occasions in 2005 and 2006 when she claimed travel allowance as chair of the parliamentary standing committee on families and human services, when there are no records of committee hearings in that city at that time.

Bronwyn Bishop apologises for 'error of judgment' over travel claims

Speaker tells Alan Jones she feels she has let down the Australian people and will repay money for flights to weddings, but continues to resist calls to resign

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Senior colleagues, including treasurer Joe Hockey, refused to publicly defend Bishop after her belated public apology Thursday. Many colleagues still see her bid to continue as Speaker as untenable and the prime minister, Tony Abbott, has kept an unusually low profile this week as the controversy continues. Bishop will face a no-confidence motion when parliamentary sittings resume on 11 August if she remains in the job.

The remuneration tribunal determination on allowances from 2006 states “the chair of a parliamentary committee shall be paid travelling allowance in respect of each overnight stay in a place other than his or her home base when travelling on parliamentary committee business”. Parliamentary committee business is not defined.

The parliamentary standing orders for committees do not appear to envisage chairs travelling for solo meetings.

Bishop has said one of those claims – for $600 worth of flights from Sydney to Albury in June 2006 on the weekend of colleague Sophie Mirabella’s nearby wedding – was justified because she held a secret meeting with an unnamed source regarding her committee’s inquiry into work life balance. She justified another claim in 2007 coinciding with colleague Teresa Gambaro’s wedding by citing another one-on-one meeting with an unnamed committee source.

Other committee members at the time have said the explanation “doesn’t stack up”.

Labor frontbencher Kate Ellis told Sky News “there was a very formal process that in order to be approved to travel for those hearings, we needed to have a meeting of the committee that had a full quorum; that declared that there would be a public hearing; and that we agreed; and it was placed in the minutes that there would be official business of the committee in this city or town, on this date”.

“So the reason I found it really strange is because that determination was never made about Albury over that weekend ... I went back and I checked my diary. I went back and I actually checked the list of public hearings for that inquiry and found that there was nothing listed.

“So it was only at that point that we then heard Bronwyn Bishop come out and say ‘no, no, this was because it was entirely confidential, so confidential I couldn’t tell the committee, and that as chair I took the responsibility to go and hear this secret evidence myself, not report it back to the committee and have no further discussions’. I mean frankly, it doesn’t add up. This just doesn’t stack up. It doesn’t pass any test. It was a ridiculous explanation that was given after, I think, Bronwyn Bishop was caught out,” Ellis said.

The 15 travel claims as committee chair, outside of committee hearings or committee work with the secretariat in Canberra, cover inquiries by the committee into the adoption of children from overseas, balancing work and families and the impact of illicit drug use on families. They are for travel all over the country, including Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Brisbane, Adelaide, Whyalla and Bathurst.

Bronywn Bishop should ‘roll over and give a younger person a go’, says Clive Palmer - link to video

Bishop appeared on Macquarie Radio on Thursday morning to apologise for an “error of judgment” in using more than $5,000 of taxpayer dollars to fly between Melbourne and Geelong for a Liberal party fundraiser.

“I want to apologise to the Australian people for my error of judgment and to say sorry,” Bishop told commentator Alan Jones.

“You know, that helicopter, yes, I was short of time. But it is no excuse, and it was an error of judgment. And really, as I said, I want to apologise to the Australian people, because I feel I’ve let them down.”

Bronwyn Bishop has never welcomed the kind of scrutiny she applies to others

After a career of subjecting others to pitiless interrogation, many are tempted to see Bishop’s $5,000 helicopter flight as her political death knell. But Bishop has fallen and risen before, writes her biographer, and her ambition, determination and imperviousness to criticism should not be underestimated

Read more

Later on Wednesday, the Speaker appeared contrite as she fronted the media before a planned event in Sale, Victoria.

“It’s important for me to talk with the Australian people. I love this country very much. And it does sadden me that I feel I’ve let them down,” Bishop said.

Her conduct at the doorstop was a departure from her demeanour at a press conference earlier this month, shortly after being forced to pay back the $5,000 used to hire the chopper flight. Then she said: “The biggest apology one can make is to repay the money.”

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, cast doubt over the Speaker’s motives.

“Mrs Bishop is apologising to save her job,” he told reporters. “Mrs Bishop is not apologising because she understands she’s done anything wrong.”

Hockey dodged reporters’ questions on the matter. “I’ll leave the Speaker to explain issues for herself, as she has. I have nothing further to add,” he said.

Parliamentary secretaries Kelly O’Dwyer and Paul Fletcher also refused to stand behind the Speaker when interviewed by Sky News on Thursday, but both backed her decision to apologise.

Bronwyn Bishop expenses row: historic claims reveal another 15 trips | Australia news | The Guardian

'The Speaker is not resigning'

Shalailah Medhora Wednesday 29 July 2015

Speaker defiant despite facing growing pressure for her resignation over travel claims and looming no-confidence motion when parliament resumes

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop, will face a no-confidence motion when parliament resumes in August. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Bronwyn Bishop is resisting growing pressure for her resignation over travel claims despite deep concern within the government at the escalating political damage from the expenses scandal.

Bronwyn Bishop under scrutiny over expenses for flight to another wedding

Speaker’s spokesman says she met an unnamed academic on official business on the Monday after the wedding of colleague Teresa Gambaro

Read more

Christopher Pyne, leader of the government in the House of Representatives, warned his worried colleagues to fall in line and support the embattled Speaker.

Despite a looming no-confidence motion when parliament resumes and criticism from Labor that her position as Speaker of the House of Representatives is no longer tenable following question marks over the use of travel entitlements, Bishop is not budging.

“The Speaker is not resigning,” a spokesman said.

On Wednesday it emerged that Bishop had claimed $288 of taxpayer dollars to stay in Brisbane the night of Liberal backbencher Teresa Gambaro’s wedding in April 2007.

The Speaker’s office said Bishop met an unnamed source the morning after the wedding in relation to her role as chair of the house standing committee on families and human services.

Bronwyn Bishop's fate determined by media more than parliamentary scrutiny

Lenore Taylor

Whether the Speaker survives the expenses scandal will be depend more on what the Coalition thinks it can get away with and how long the media milk the story than whether the political system cracks down on such transgressions

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In June 2006, Bishop claimed back $600 for flights and transport to attend the wedding of then Liberal shadow minister Sophie Mirabella, also justified with an unspecified meeting with an unnamed person.

Pyne defended the Speaker in the face of the allegations. “She retains my full support,” Pyne told Sky News on Wednesday afternoon.

He told parliamentary colleagues not to “jump on the bandwagon” against Bishop, who he said was doing a “superb” job.

“I’m standing strongly behind Bronwyn Bishop as the Speaker and I would call on all my colleagues whether they’re in the cabinet or on the backbench to stand firm against the demands by the Labor party to remove the Speaker,” Pyne said.

“Let’s not repeat the mistakes of our opponents, that we’ll jump at the first whiff of grapeshot,” he said, referring to Labor’s decision to axe Harry Jenkins to install Peter Slipper.

Bronwyn Bishop has never welcomed the kind of scrutiny she applies to others

After a career of subjecting others to pitiless interrogation, many are tempted to see Bishop’s $5,000 helicopter flight as her political death knell. But Bishop has fallen and risen before, writes her biographer, and her ambition, determination and imperviousness to criticism should not be underestimated

Read more

One colleague distanced himself from the Speaker. “Bronwyn is accountable for her own actions; it is really up to her to explain them in a way that satisfies the public,” Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos told Sky News on Wednesday night.

“I think it is worth us asking more questions about how entitlements are administered because there are grey areas which puts parliamentarians in a difficult position where they have to [decide] about how those grey areas are administered.”

He said if Bishop was considering her future, he was confident she would do what was best for the Liberal party.

“I think it would be true to say this has been a distraction now for a couple weeks,” Sinodinos said. “The sooner it is either resolved or blows over the better, so we can get back to sending out our messages on economic security and national security.”

Bishop will face a no-confidence motion when parliament resumes in August, brought forward by crossbenchers Clive Palmer and Andrew Wilkie.

“My hope is that Mrs Bishop will do the honourable thing and resign,’’ Palmer said.

“Bronwyn Bishop is not a fit person to occupy the highest position in the House of Representatives,’’ Wilkie said. “The member for Mackellar has abused parliamentary entitlements and treats public expectations with contempt. No wonder many members of the community question her integrity.”

The Speaker can only be removed by a no-confidence motion, and cannot be sacked by the prime minister.

The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, has not ruled out a similar motion, and said he expects that the “soap opera” would be over before parliament starts again.

Bill Shorten says Bronwyn Bishop ‘has to go’ and Tony Abbott should make it happen. Link to video

Committee member Kate Ellis, who is shadow education minister, expressed surprise at the justification.

“It seems that none of our committee members were aware of just how busy our chair Bronwyn Bishop was on our behalf with a variety of secret, confidential and anonymous meetings,” Ellis said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to Bronwyn Bishop to demonstrate to Australians that she was on committee business.”

Senior frontbenchers offered muted support for the Speaker early on Wednesday.

The public has “justifiable angst” on the issue of parliamentary expenses, social services minister Scott Morrison admitted, adding that “the Speaker is consulting with her colleagues and I think that’s the appropriate place for those discussions to take place”.

The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, also implied that the Speaker was contemplating her future.

“I understand that the Labor party will seek to use this to destabilise question time, for example, and I’m sure Speaker Bishop will take that into account as she considers her position,” Julie Bishop told Channel Nine on Wednesday morning.

“But I believe it’s important that the Department of Finance be able to carry out an investigation. That’s what has happened in the past and that should happen in this case.”

The prime minister, Tony Abbott, put Bishop on “probation” after she was forced to pay back more than $5,000 of taxpayer money for taking a helicopter to travel between Melbourne and Geelong for a Liberal party fundraiser.

'The Speaker is not resigning': Bronwyn Bishop digs in over expenses scandal | Australia news | The Guardian

Labor will disrespect Bronwyn Bishop if she remains Speaker

By political reporter Eric Tlozek, staff Thursday 30 July 2015

Photo: Mrs Bishop is considering her position in light of ongoing negative publicity about her travel spending. (AAP: Lukas Coch)

Related Story: Senior ministers 'ropeable' over Bronwyn Bishop scandal

Related Story: Speaker 'considering her position' ahead of Parliament return

Map: Australia

The Federal Opposition says it will show its lack of respect for Bronwyn Bishop if she is still Speaker when Parliament resumes in less than two weeks.

Senior ministers said Mrs Bishop was considering her position in light of ongoing negative publicity about her travel spending, in particular a $5,227 taxpayer-funded helicopter flight she took from Melbourne to Geelong for a political fundraiser.

Labor has also raised questions about expenses claims Mrs Bishop made to attend the weddings of two Liberal colleagues.

Crossbench MPs Clive Palmer and Andrew Wilkie are planning to move a no-confidence motion in Mrs Bishop when Parliament resumes.

The Government can defeat that with its majority but Labor's manager of Opposition business, Tony Burke, said Mrs Bishop would face ongoing attacks from the Opposition if she did not step down.

"She has brought massive disrepute on the entire Parliament," he said.

How can the Speaker be unseated?

• Speaker ceases to hold office if they cease to be a member.
• Speaker can be removed from office by a vote of the house.
• Speaker can resign their office or seat directly to the Governor-General in writing.

He said Labor MPs would no longer respect Mrs Bishop when she tries to chair proceedings.

"There's been lots of occasions where people might think the Parliament's in chaos, but also people pull back and pull back out of respect for the office the Speaker holds," he said.

"That's over now. That's completely over.

"She might be there in a big important chair, but the sense of her as being somebody respected to do that job fairly and do that job in a way that reflects on the rest of the Parliament positively is gone, completely gone."

The Opposition has previously moved a no-confidence motion in the Speaker, arguing she was biased.

Little support for Bishop among senior members

The ABC has spoken to senior members of the Government and there is little support for her.

While one described her position as "untenable", another called her actions "unconscionable".

"Ropeable doesn't even come close," one MP said.

"This is week three and there is no sign of it ending. She has no support [in the party] because what she did was so unconscionable."

But the Leader of the House, Christopher Pyne, has called on Government colleagues to stand firm and support Mrs Bishop to remain in the Speaker's chair.

"I think Bronwyn Bishop is doing a superb job as Speaker," he said.

Timeline of Bishop's travel scandals

• 2006: Claims $600 for return flight to Albury
  Mrs Bishop flies into Albury and then continues on to Wangaratta for the wedding of former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella.
  Her office says the travel was within her entitlements because Mrs Bishop held a private meeting in relation to her role as chair of the family and human services committee in Albury and paid for her own transport and accommodation for the wedding.
  2007: Claims $288 for travel allowance in Brisbane
  On the same day, Mrs Bishop attends the wedding of Liberal colleague Teresa Gambaro.
  Her office says the travel was within her entitlements because she was chair of a parliamentary committee looking into illicit drug use, and met with an academic with experience in that area the next day in Brisbane.
  2014: Claims $5,227 for charter helicopter to Clifton Golf Course near Geelong
  Mrs Bishop takes the 90km trip from Melbourne to the golf course for a Liberal fundraiser.
  The charter claim is recorded in the entitlement log and revealed as a helicopter flight when a tweet from a volunteer at the golf course surfaces.
  The Speaker holds a media conference to defend her actions.
  She says the claim was within her entitlement but agrees to pay back the money with a 25 per cent penalty because of the public uproar.
  July 15, 2015:
  Media starts reporting on the charter helicopter flight.
  July 17, 2015:
  Labor refers the helicopter flight to Federal Police for further investigation. AFP responds by invoking the 1998 "Minchin Protocol" and hands the case to the Department of Finance to investigate.
  July 29, 2015:
  Crossbenchers Clive Palmer and Andrew Wilkie signal plans for a no-confidence motion when Parliament resumes.
  July 30, 2015:
  Mrs Bishop goes on Sydney radio station 2GB to say she is sorry to have "let down the Australian people" and vows to repay any taxpayer money she spent on attending weddings.
  However, she says she will not resign as Speaker.

From other news sites:

• The Sydney Morning Herald: Speaker Bronwyn Bishop is considering her position amid expenses scandal: Julie Bishop
• Herald Sun: Bronwyn Bishop says she has Prime Minister Tony Abbott's backing as expense scandal deepens
• Yahoo!7 News: Libs cautious over Speaker future
• News.com.au: Speaker Bronwyn Bishop charged taxpayers to attend a wedding as questions asked over Albury trip
• Australian Financial Review: Bronwyn Bishop 'considering her position'

Labor will disrespect Bronwyn Bishop if she remains Speaker when Parliament resumes, Tony Burke says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The dog ate Bronwyn Bishop's travel expenses homework – twice

Lenore Taylor Political editor Wednesday 29 July 2015

The Speaker’s position on claims made for private travel is clearly untenable and her colleagues see it. The only question now is whether Tony Abbott does

In both cases, Bishop insists she has done nothing wrong, that she is not required to ask permission for such meetings, nor to report back to the committee. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

It sounds like the dog ate Bronwyn Bishop’s homework – twice. Even senior Liberals are having terrible trouble defending her.

First she claimed $600 in flights to Albury on the same weekend in 2006 as colleague Sophie Mirabella’s nearby wedding, because, she says, she had a secret meeting with an unnamed person late on a Friday afternoon regarding a parliamentary committee inquiry into balancing work and family life.

Not since Deirdre Chambers turned up to dinner in Muriel’s Wedding have we seen such a coincidence

Fellow committee members were not told about the meeting, did not approve the travel and do not remember hearing anything that Bishop, the committee chair, gleaned from her conveniently-timed discussion.

It’s hard to imagine what aspect of work/life balance could be so sensitive as to require such secrecy and discretion, harder still to imagine why it would have to remain secret nine years later.

Now we discover that Bishop claimed travel allowance due to another secret meeting with an unnamed academic, as part of her work on another inquiry by the same committee into illicit drugs. And – you wouldn’t believe it – this meeting also happened to coincide with another colleague’s interstate wedding. Not since Deirdre Chambers turned up to dinner in Muriel’s Wedding have we seen such a coincidence.

In both cases, Bishop insists she has done nothing wrong, that she is not required to ask permission for such meetings, nor to report back to the committee.

The standing orders for committees do not specify rules about chairs meeting people anonymously, but do say committees can hold private hearings. Three committee members have to be present for it to constitute a committee meeting.

Bronwyn Bishop under scrutiny over expenses for flight to another wedding

Speaker’s spokesman says she met an unnamed academic on official business on the Monday after the wedding of colleague Teresa Gambaro

Read more

We know parliamentarians regularly schedule a public event to justify billing taxpayers for a party event that would not otherwise be eligible.

In 2014 Tony Abbott explained to government MPs that he had arrived late for a party-room meeting in Canberra because he had had to schedule an early morning visit to a cancer research centre in Melbourne, so that he could justify taxpayer funding for his trip to the city for a “private function” the night before.

But at least we have proof the prime minister really did attend the cancer clinic.

Bill Shorten says Speaker Bronwyn Bishop must go. Video

Imagine for a moment where we would end up if any unspecified private meeting with any unspecified person could be used to justify an MP’s travel for private reasons.

Would it really be OK for an MP to say: “Sure, that secret meeting with an unnamed person about an unspecified subject, which I used to justify my travel to Port Douglas, occurred the night before I was due to start my annual leave ... at Port Douglas. What of it?”

Bronwyn Bishop 'had to attend secret hearings' on Mirabella wedding trip

Speaker’s office says she had to hold anonymous hearings of the balancing work and family inquiry in the area that weekend and could not give further details of what business she used to justify claiming expenses

Read more

Bishop might have paid back the $5,000 associated with her infamous helicopter ride to Geelong (frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull pointedly made the same trip on Wednesday via two trams and a train) and the finance department may be investigating her claims – but her position is clearly untenable and her colleagues can see it. The only question now is whether the prime minister does.

And even when the Bishop saga is eventually resolved, we need absolute clarity that secret meetings with unnamed people lie clearly outside the travel allowance rules.

The dog ate Bronwyn Bishop's travel expenses homework – twice | Australia news | The Guardian

The ALP conference is just for show - Shorten's real test lies ahead

By Mungo MacCallum Tuesday 28 July 2015

Photo: Bill Shorten has given himself a chance to develop genuine policies to take to the next election. (AAP: David Crosling)

Bill Shorten survived the ALP conference, as he was always going to, but the question is: what has he survived for? Will his ideas on climate and asylum seekers get him though the next election? Mungo MacCallum writes.

It is a ritual as regular as the arrival of the first cold snap of winter, and usually about as welcome.

At every ALP national conference the media commentators announce portentously that there will be a make or break issue: a test that the leader must survive to determine whether they succeed or fail.

For Doc Evatt, it was simply preserving his leadership against both left and right; for Arthur Calwell it quickly became fending off the rise of Gough Whitlam. For Whitlam himself it was to beat down the left-dominated delegates.

For Bill Hayden, it was to counter the influence of Bob Hawke. For Hawke, it was to win the debate about mining Australian uranium. For Kevin Rudd, it was to devise a viable alternative to John Howard's WorkChoices. For Julia Gillard it was to explain that while she was her, we were more than just us.

And for Bill Shorten, of course, it has been about turn-backs and asylum seeker policy. And in every case, the leader prevailed: a cynic would say this is what the conference is for.

Through backroom deals, sweeteners and threats, the party's movers and shakers (mainly, but not entirely, the factional bosses) conclude that the leader must not be humiliated in public: if they are to be humiliated, it will be in the privacy of their own councils. The debates may be passionate, even lachrymose, but the numbers are seldom if ever if in doubt. The vote, if there is one, is passed.

So one might have assumed that the test was passed, the ordeal was over. But no; what happens next is that the commentators, especially the conservatives, move the goal posts. Well, they say, the leader might have won a technical victory, but that wasn't exactly what we meant; all opposition was not crushed, annihilated. There are still dissenters; the leader's position is not yet safe. Indeed, it might be even more perilous that the losers regroup and plot on, this time in secret.

And so it has been for Shorten. Sure, he got over the line - but surely not on the merits of the argument. He could not count on the reliable right; he had to be propped up by his supporters in the loathsome left, by the unions, most especially the reviled CFMEU and its mad vandals. And this has put him in their debt - for a long time, if not forever. They are beholden to him, he is a mere puppet.

Shorten is weak, fatally exposed on economic policy, reprising the worst of the Rudd-Gillard era. That, at least, is the interpretation of the scribes of The Australian, and it will undoubtedly become the mantra of the Liberals, with Tony Abbott at their forefront. Situation normal.

He has now crafted some serious ideas, the main one being his radical proposals for renewable energy as part of a broader, re-jigged climate policy. It has its risks, but also its opportunities.

All of which might lead the casual spectator to wonder what was the point of having the conference in the first place. And this is certainly the position the leaders themselves frequently bemoan. Why go through all that public time and effort, and then have to put up with a campaign of denigration and vilification if the outcome was essentially predetermined?

Life would be so much easier if they and their trusted cohorts could simply get on with it and dispense with all that democratic nonsense. After all, that's what their opponents do; why are they the ones who have to suffer the travails of inclusion and transparency?

And when they do so, there are always demands for more: extra delegates with greater independence, increasing power to determine the policies they would far rather keep to themselves. The same commentators who rail about the need for the Labor Party to become more open and democratic are the very ones that praise the Tories for being tough, for keeping their organisational wings and their parliamentary wings as far apart as possible. It's just not fair.

And indeed it isn't; but that's the ALP for you. Like it or not, Labor has always been a bottom-up party; there have been distortions and disruptions, but in the end the idea that the membership - the grass roots - is sacrosanct cannot be avoided. And in recent times the push to enhance that movement has accelerated: thus an expanded national conference with greater rank and file participation and more possibilities for dispute and dissent.

The Libs boast that they are the party of individual freedom and choice, that any parishioners in their broad church are able to cross the floor of parliament, while Labor is bound and constrained. But in practice the parliamentary discipline by both sets of whips leaves little if any room for genuine rebellion. If people want to let out a bit of steam they can only do so well away from Canberra.

Labor's national conferences produce the odd outburst, but it seldom leads to any substantial change, and almost never when the leader is involved. So Shorten survives, as he was always going to. The question is: what has he survived for?

He has now crafted some serious ideas, the main one being his radical proposals for renewable energy as part of a broader, re-jigged climate policy. It has its risks, but also its opportunities.

Whether he can refine and develop it into a centrepiece for the next election will be the real test, and of course his opponents will claim that he has already failed it. But he has given himself a chance, and at least he will not have to worry about another national conference to contend with.

The Government's favourite funster, Christopher Pyne, notes that the Libs always enjoy Labor's national conferences more than Labor does. But the real fun is only just beginning. Bring out the three-word slogans, the gotcha lines, the scare campaigns. We know Abbott rejected them last week, but don't worry - they are only on probation.

Mungo MacCallum is a political journalist and commentator.

The ALP conference is just for show - Shorten's real test lies ahead - The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Federal Opposition 'very concerned'

By political reporter Eric Tlozek Saturday 25 July 2015

Photo: The Department of Finance will investigate whether Bronwyn Bishop misused her entitlements last year. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)

Related Story: Liberal MP Craig Laundy calls for review of parliamentary travel entitlements

Related Story: Bishop defends using taxpayer funds to attend wedding

Related Story: Bronwyn Bishop 'on probation' over taxpayer-funded helicopter trip: Abbott

Related Story: Bishop should stand aside over 'arrogant misuse' of travel funds: Shorten

The Federal Opposition says it has serious concerns about the conduct of an investigation into Speaker Bronwyn Bishop's use of travel entitlements.

Labor asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate whether Ms Bishop misused her entitlements when she chartered a helicopter to attend a Liberal Party function last year.

But police referred the case to the Department of Finance.

The Saturday Paper has reported the Secretary of the Department, Jane Halton, told a women's business function the issue was "an example of sexist double standards", and that a man would not have attracted the same outrage.

Labor's Pat Conroy said if Ms Halton made the comments, it would suggest she had pre-judged the matter, and the Department should hand over the investigation.

"I'm very concerned because it implies the secretary has already made a judgement about this case," Mr Conroy said.

"Secondly, it reinforces the need for the Federal Police to conduct an investigation, as I've urged them to do."

A spokesman for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said it was still appropriate for the Department to conduct the investigation, and confirmed Ms Halton would still be involved.

The concern over Ms Halton's comments comes in the wake of a call by Liberal MP Craig Laundy for a review into parliamentary travel entitlements.

Western Sydney backbencher Craig Laundy said the ongoing attention on Mrs Bishop's use of travel entitlements has led to criticism of all MPs.

"The last 10 days I've been hit with it everywhere I go and I was frustrated," he said.

"The public have questions of us, they're questioning me on a daily basis."

Mr Laundy — a first-term MP — said he flies economy class and uses taxis when it is not efficient to use the parliamentary ComCar service.

He echoed calls from the Greens and Senate crossbenchers for a crackdown on travel spending.

"To restore the public's faith in us, we should be looking at how entitlements are used and enforced and monitored," he said.

"I don't think that's just a matter for public confidence, I think we should be doing that all the time anyway."

From other news sites:

• The Daily Telegraph: Western Sydney MP Craig Laundy calls for fellow parliamentarians to catch taxis and fly economy class as he does

Federal Opposition 'very concerned' about investigation into Bronwyn Bishop's travel entitlements - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Julia Gillard: 'Tony Abbott had a good idea, we should write down the date!'

Bridie Jabour Friday 24 July 2015

Former PM takes swipe at Tony Abbott and admits Barack Obama is ‘very’ hot during Sydney discussion

Julia Gillard says Barack Obama is ‘very’ hot. You be the judge – in pictures

Julia Gillard at live show Photo Opp in Redfern, Sydney on Thursday. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian

Tony Abbott having a good idea is such a rarity that people should write down the date, Julia Gillard has said, while admitting she thinks Barack Obama is “very” hot.

Gillard also singled out the former Queensland premier Campbell Newman as one of the most difficult premiers to work with during a wide-ranging discussion in Sydney.

The former prime minister appeared at the Giant Dwarf venue as part of the new Photo Opp event, where former politicians discuss the stories behind particular photos. It was hosted by the former New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally and Julian Morrow, from satirist comedy group the Chaser.

Asked how it came about that the famous photo involving all living Australian prime ministers was taken at Gough Whitlam’s memorial, Gillard said it was the idea of the current Australian prime minister.

“Tony Abbott had a good idea, so we should write down the date,” she said to cheers and claps from the receptive audience.

Former prime ministers of Australia (from left) Malcolm Fraser, Julia Gillard, Bob Hawke, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Paul Keating assemble for a photograph at the completion of the memorial service for former prime minister, Gough Whitlam, at Town Hall in Sydney on 5 November 2014. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

“The idea was to get all the prime ministers in one spot to get a photo and so as we all moved on from the funeral, Tony was there saying ‘we should get a photo, we should get a photo’.

Live ALP conference 2015: left unlikely to make turn backs decision before morning – live

Labor delegates gather for the 47th national conference in Melbourne. The Labor leader will deliver his opening address before the conference moves on to an economic policy debate. All the developments, live

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“We were all just milling around chatting a bit before they said line up and we just lined up. My main thing is I would’ve preferred not to be standing next to Tony ... and you will note Bob [Hawke] took the hit for the team.”

Gillard also rubbished reports she had refused to sit next to her ally-turned-adversary Kevin Rudd at the memorial, saying he and his daughter Jessica actually helped reorganise seats because there were too many people.

When discussing various photos of Gillard and Obama, Keneally asked: “Just between us girls, how hot is President Obama?”. Gillard responded: “Very”.

Most of the discussion focused on Gillard’s political career and she was asked how she approached Council of Australian Governments meetings where all the heads of the states and territories meet the prime minister to discuss various issues.

Gillard praised the former NSW Liberal premier Barry O’Farrell and the former Victorian Liberal premier Ted Baillieu but said Newman was petty.

“When someone was determined, and I do finger Premier Campbell Newman from Queensland, when someone was determined to make it about the pettiest of personal political agendas then it didn’t work, but it worked for me more than it didn’t,” she said of her negotiation style.

“When you [Keneally] were there, and Barry O’Farrell was there and then Ted Baillieu and various other conservative leaders, we got good work done.”

Julia Gillard: 'Tony Abbott had a good idea, we should write down the date!' | World news | The Guardian

A weakened political opponent is better than a fallen one

By ABC's Marius Benson Tuesday 21 July 2015

Photo: Both Bronwyn Bishop and Bill Shorten are being targeted for destruction by their opponents. (AAP: Lukas Coch)

Labor is gunning for Bronwyn Bishop and the Coalition is targeting Bill Shorten, but the truth is both parties will be better served if their teetering targets limp on rather than fall, writes Marius Benson.

The Government and Opposition are now engaged in energetic political demolition jobs - and both would be well served if their teetering targets survive rather than fall.

Labor's target is Bronwyn Bishop and her preferred travel options. They have tried referring them to the police and have called for her resignation as Speaker as they try to ride a wave of public outrage.

The outrage is fading, though slowly, but when Parliament resumes in three weeks, Labor can be expected to try to revive it with a no-confidence motion in the Speaker. None of that will do the Government any good. Bishop is now firmly identified as the embodiment of the politician in the trough, regally backstroking her way through the privileges provided by the taxpayer. And when busted for what has been seen universally as a rort, she refused to apologise, and refused to say it was the wrong thing.

Bishop is a unique figure in politics. She seems to have been helicoptered in from another, earlier age, and sees it as her duty to lecture those of the 21st century on proper behaviour. Her default setting is to speak to journalists and others as a headmistress would address a wayward junior school student. When that high-handed manner is combined with being caught out, the howls of derision are deafening, the schadenfreude palpable.

Tony Abbot is standing by her. As long as he does she will survive as Speaker and Labor should be delighted that she does. Politics is such a combat sport that the destruction of an immediate target takes priority over any other consideration. But Bishop surviving in her present position, twisting in the wind as she dangles from a chopper, is a much better result for Labor than her removal as Speaker, which would end the issue.

On the other side, the Government is doing its best to destroy Bill Shorten's leadership, pursuing him through Parliament, the unions royal commission and in the wider world - and a very good job they've been doing, although most of the credit for diminishing Shorten goes to the man himself. Abbott and the Government generally should acknowledge that Shorten is their greatest asset.

The polls show that the battle between the PM and the Opposition Leader is a fight between electoral minnows. The only way for Abbott to appear to have any stature is for him to stand next to his opposite number. Newspoll has Abbott's standing at a rarely matched and entirely subterranean minus 27 per cent. The only person he can look down on at that depth is Mr Minus 32, Bill Shorten. The more voters see of the Opposition Leader, the less they think of him, and he stands now as the Government's best chance of overcoming the strong lead Labor holds in the party vote, ahead 53-47.

Both Abbott and Shorten are seen as vacuous careerists with little seriousness about policy. That is demonstrated by the current tax debate. In that discussion the Government approaches the table having already ruled out any change to superannuation tax breaks, which are universally condemned as too generous. Labor for its part rules out any change to the GST and is opposing the Government's changes to pensions - changes that do no more than reverse the politically driven giveaways of John Howard's last days.

The voice identified as having real policy substance in that tax debate is that of the vastly popular Liberal Premier of NSW, Mike Baird. He is now the chief salesman for raising the GST - and Labor says in doing that he's acting for the PM. Maybe, but it's important to be clear on what Baird is saying. He wants the GST increased not just to allow tax cuts elsewhere, he wants an overall increase in tax to meet rising demand for government services, particularly in health. That contradicts the standard Government line that they will deliver tax that is "simpler, fairer and lower".

Lower tax is always the promise of the Coalition, although they never do it. Malcolm Fraser didn't lower tax, nor did John Howard, nor has Abbott. But "lower tax" remains one of the most totemic Coalition beliefs. It's like "equality/equity" with Labor, a belief that has gone hand-in-hand with a widening wealth gap through Labor years.

The latest round of tax talks begins with territory, state and federal heads gathering for a leaders' retreat, but the expectation is that it will be characterised more by retreating than leading. It's hard to see it producing concrete results and providing more than a minor suspension of the usual political Punch and Judy show.

Marius Benson can be heard covering federal politics on ABC NewsRadio Breakfast each weekday morning.

A weakened political opponent is better than a fallen one - The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Villains, jesters and craven kings: a Shakespearean tragedy in Canberra?

By Michael Bradley Thursday 23 July 2015

Photo: Bronwyn Bishop is the pantomime villain. Meanwhile, the spotlight catches the two leaders off-stage, looking smaller than we remember. (AAP: Daniel Munoz)

It's easy to imagine politics as a play right now: Bronwyn Bishop as pantomime villain, Mike Baird as the working man, Bill Shorten as court jester and Tony Abbott as the craven king. How does this play end? Michael Bradley writes.

"Politics," said Otto von Bismarck in 1867, "is the art of the possible, the attainable - the art of the next best."

Enshrined as the ultimate rationale for political pragmatism, this phrase was at the time an exemplar of the reaction of what we'd now call the Right to the flights of idealism the Enlightenment had produced. Such as this, from another German, Johann von Goethe: "Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is the watchword of the wise."

In the world's democracies, the contest between idealism and pragmatism is endless. Purists don't last in politics; they never could. Compromise is an essential element of majority rule and government by consensus.

However, being willing to compromise is not the same as having no ideals. The absence of principles, or the willingness to freely abandon them for political gain, is the heart of democracy's present malaise.

We are at an interesting pass in Australian politics. Imagine it as a play; two scenes are being performed simultaneously. In Canberra, a farce is playing out: Bronwyn Bishop as pantomime villain, sheathed in scarlet cape with impossible hair and accusatory teeth, strutting around the stage throwing increasingly outrageous insults at the cheap seats and eating caviar from a silver spoon.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, a Shakespearean epic: NSW Premier Mike Baird the bold leader, clad in the toga of the simple working man and speaking the down-home language of the proletariat, but saying what everyone had only been hoping to hear: words of aspiration, clarity, vision. His chin is modestly but firmly thrust forward; Bronwyn quivers like an angry snake.

So much for the antagonists; where are our leading men? Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten, the two least popular people in Australia, are scripted to perform in both scenes, and simultaneously at that. How are they performing? They are performing exactly to type.

In the panto, Abbott the craven King refuses to countenance Bronwyn's downfall, the audience instantly recognising his claimed political courage as nothing more than personal cowardice (the fact that Bronwyn keeps calling him "boy" and hitting him with a bat gives a clue). Shorten the court jester pops up repeatedly from behind a safety fence to call for Bronwyn's beheading each time her back is turned, but not too loudly in case anyone realises that his boy scout uniform was stolen from a convenient clothes line.

Cut to the epic: Baird has just delivered a bruising honest monologue, declaring his disgust with the world of politics and calling on the people to rise up and demand better from their elected leaders. Let's have a mature debate about the things that really matter, he says, and then puts forward his own imaginative but unpopular ideas. Disagree with me, he says, that's fine. But let us be brave. Come with me and together we can achieve miracles.

Suddenly, spotlights catch two frozen figures at the edges of the stage; it's Abbott and Shorten, Roman senators, seeming much smaller than we remember, looking uncertain. A beat passes; then they remember their lines. Abbott says he's sick of politics too and he's not here to bury Baird but to praise him. But, you know, Labor's debt and deficit disaster. Shorten also agrees that vision is a good thing, but the GST can't be increased because Abbott's pants are on fire.

In keeping with modernity, both scenes have alternative endings depending on public opinion. Bronwyn might be commanded into exile by a leader who has found his moral core and chooses to do what's right; or she might retain her place at the right hand of the throne, she and the king oblivious to the mob storming the palace grounds. The jester will be trampled in the rush.

For his part, Baird may well suffer the fate of Caesar: knifed for expedience. And perhaps the audience will cheer; the mob's love of candour can turn to hate as fast as the realisation of threatened self-interest dawns. Or maybe the flicker of hope will catch on. A winged chariot to fly Baird to Canberra temptingly awaits. Not a helicopter.

I don't know whether it's true that we get the leaders we deserve. In Abbott and Shorten, we certainly don't have the leaders we need. Still, nothing's forever and, as Goethe said: "The right man is the one who seizes the moment."

Michael Bradley is the managing partner of Marque Lawyers, a Sydney law firm, and writes a weekly column for The Drum.

Villains, jesters and craven kings: are we watching a Shakespearean tragedy in Canberra? - The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Bronwyn Bishop expense scandal: Speaker defends trips to the opera

James Robertson July 22, 2015

Bronwyn Bishop and entertainment reporter Craig Bennett on the red carpet at an Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at The Domain in 2013.

'Choppergate' stunt: Bishop invited to address Labor fundraiser

Under-fire Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has defended charging taxpayers thousands for expensive car trips on days when she went to the opera.

A Fairfax Media analysis of Mrs Bishop's travel entitlement claims between 2010 and 2013 showed the Speaker has charged taxpayers more than $3300 across at least eight days she attended the theatre and other arts events.

Bronwyn Bishop charged the taxpayer more than $1000 for the use of a car the day she attended the Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at the Domain.

On February 2, 2013, Mrs Bishop - then shadow special minister of state and for seniors - charged taxpayers more than $1000 for the use of a car.

The same day - a Saturday - she attended an Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at The Domain.

Mrs Bishop joined celebrities such as Vince Colosimo and TV personalities Brendan Moar, Indira Naidoo and Steve Liebmann in the crowd. She was pictured arriving with Craig Bennett, an entertainment reporter for the Ten network.

Bronwyn Bishop and Craig Bennett on the red carpet at La Traviata on Sydney Harbour in 2012. Photo: Eva Rinaldi

It is not known if Mrs Bishop had official engagements that day and others listed; her office did not provide details and defended taking taxpayer-funded transport to the theatre.

"It's quite proper," a spokesman said. "Members of both sides use entitlements for [such] events.

"They get invited because of the position that they hold. She would not have been invited otherwise. It's not like she bought a ticket herself."

The $1000 in charges by Mrs Bishop that Saturday were expensed in two amounts, both classified as "taxi". But politicians are not required to provide details of their expenditure on car transport.

In the past, Mrs Bishop has displayed a preference for hire cars from Royale Limousines - which offers chauffeured car hire for the "discerning executive" - that were also classified as "taxis" on expense reports.

Fairfax Media has previously obtained under freedom-of-information laws details of Mrs Bishop's transport on about 17 days between 2011 and 2012. On 11 of those, Mrs Bishop hired a car from Royale Limousines for amounts of up to $700 a day, also listed as "taxis".

No other hire-car companies were engaged in the same period but Mrs Bishop travelled often by Commonwealth Car.

A call to Royale Limousines on Wednesday morning confirmed that, for $1000, a customer could hire a 2014 Mercedes S350 for about 10 hours, or a BMW 7 Series.

The rules governing MP expenses say taxpayers can be charged for car travel for official parliamentary or party business or "official business as a minister".

The revelation comes after Mrs Bishop was placed on "probation" by Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week.

The Speaker had earlier agreed to repay a charge of more than $5000 for the use of a helicopter for a trip between Melbourne and Geelong, after agreeing the amount was "too large" and the mode of transport "grandiose".

The Speaker will also pay a $1300 penalty for the expense.

It is not the first time an MP has come under public scrutiny for charging taxpayers for entertainment-related transport.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce refused in 2013 to repay more than $5000 for attending three NRL games and defended the trip as part of his job.

"The only reason you go to them is because you're invited [as] an official guest," he said at the time.

Opposition spokesman for infrastructure Anthony Albanese charged taxpayers $1300 for a trip to Melbourne on the day of the 2014 AFL grand final. Mr Albanese appeared on the Bolt Report program in that city the next day.

In the three-year period Mrs Bishop separately charged taxpayers amounts ranging between $60 and $500 for cabs, use of Commonwealth Cars and taxis on days when she attended other arts events such as the opening of Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre; another showing of La Boheme in 2011; and Uncle Vanya at the Sydney Theatre Company.

Mrs Bishop is the daughter of a soprano and has herself appeared in charity musicals, including as Baroness Elsa in The Sound of Music and the headmistress in Grease.

In 2013, she was a patron of Opera Australia and gave the organisation more than $6000, according to that organisation's annual report.

Bronwyn Bishop expense scandal: Speaker defends trips to the opera