Commonwealth of Australia July to December 2015

Abstract

“They took some honey, and plenty of money…” Prising Bronwyn Bishop from the Speakership, a Prelude to Leadership Transition. Prime Minister Tony Abbott was begrudgingly forced to dump his personal favourite, Bronwyn Bishop, from the presiding officer’s position in the House of Representatives, after her reluctance to explain or apologise for abusing her travel entitlements. But Abbott’s stoic defence of his beleaguered New South Wales colleague came at a high price to his own leadership standing in the aftermath of the entitlements scandal. In August 2015 the septuagenarian Bishop became the third Speaker of the Australian parliament to be brought down in less than four years.