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She’s Gone

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She’s gone.

Barnaby Joyce (possibly our next deputy PM) described Bronwyn Bishop’s spending “as not unreasonable”. He might be correct. It’s not about what’s right, it’s about what you can REASONABLY get away with. It has to be remembered that those who defended her are also guilty by association. And that includes the Prime Minister. The fact that she has resigned does not change that. The Parliament will now be a better place without her. But only slightly. Until the Prime Minister can find it within himself to respect the conventions and institutions of our democracy our Parliament will remain, not a house of debate, but a house of division.

It remains debatable who was the worst offender. He or she.

32 comments

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  1. flohri1754

    I do not think that her “contributions” to Parliament as Speaker will be missed …. just wondering how long she can lurk around on the back benches ……

  2. Michael Taylor

    Gone but not forgotten. Let’s not forget, or let anyone forget, her rorts.

  3. kizhmet

    Bishop is a scapegoat (well deserved I might add) for all that is wrong with this government. I remain hopeful this scandal has woken the voting public from their apathy and pressure continues to build against Abbott and this poor excuse for a government.

  4. Kaye Lee

    Everything was within the guidelines. She has my compete confidence. The spending wasn’t unreasonable. I stand by my captain’s pick……whoops no I don’t. It’s all wrong. The rules are wrong. It’s not our fault. Bronwyn loves parliament and the Australian people. Not that it was outside entitlements or anything so she can stay on as a Member and the AFP don’t need to investigate. Nothing to see here. Look at my leadership and gravitas.

  5. M-R

    A totally disgusting episode – beyond shameful for the LNP. But there are no depths to which those mad people won’t sink: just a matter of time and opportunity.

  6. Aesop

    I saw Abbott waffle on abc24 about some contradictory hypocritical nonsense of retiring the speaker.
    I laste about 10 seconds before changing the channel.
    Abbott must resign as well

  7. Peter F

    Softly softly

  8. Bilal

    The groundswell of outrage on the rorts of Old Kero finally forced the hand of Peta. It is outrageous that OK thinks she can continue with her snout in the trough as MHR. However remember that the front bench is made up of people who defended her entitlements and only sold her out when the public voice became overwhelming. They are what we elected to office, which raises some doubts about our intelligence, but at least enough people responded to their arrogance to make them pay back and in this case, resign. Remember how they treated Peter Slipper! We should not let them forget.

  9. Mike W.

  10. diannaart

    My regret is that Bronwyn Bishop did not resign as speaker for the reasons she should have – that she was both a partisan and incompetent Speaker of the House.

  11. Keitha Granville

    He is still saying it was all within the rules but outside community expectations. In other words, you found out about it so she had to go.
    He can’t ever be trsuted. He has to go.
    None of them can be trsuted unless they come out and talk about SERIOUSLY reforming alloances and expenses. None of them will have any credibility, ever. They are all doing it, they all need to distance themselves by denouncing the current system, and changing it.

  12. Blinkyewok

    Abbott and Bishop both tarred with the same brush.

  13. hemingway13

    Thank goodness this cancer of a polly has finally been excised. Of course, she’d still snouting the Parliamentary trough if Emperor Murdoch hadn’t sooled his tabloid attack dogs on her. The media can now jump at the next shiny object.

  14. my say

    Abbott said the speakers rorting was inside the rules, whose rules, certainly not the tax payers and certainly shouldn’t be the governments either
    Surely her resigning as speaker can’t be the end of this matter ,she should be charged with fraud,who will be the next speaker?

  15. roaminruin

    Bronnie encapsulates the LNP. Democracy is just a plaything for these born to rulers, mammon over-rides all other considerations, they have contempt for parliament, convention and principle and for us, self-interest and entitlement are in their DNA, privilege is a right and entrenched power is their objective.

    Bronnie was the pustule that was merely symptomatic of all that is rotten at their core.
    Abbott looks abashed – but only because another of his captain’s picks has blown up in his face. He hasn’t change and he won’t change.
    He needs to be next.

  16. Harquebus

    Perhaps our second female minister is on the way. Minister for women perhaps. Should make the feminists happy.

  17. Peter F

    Abbott says that ‘community expectations’ have caused BB’s resignation. Wonderful, it only too him three weeks to recognise this. Wh0 says they are out of touch?

  18. OzFenric

    I’m quite disappointed in this. Choppergate was very successfully sucking the wind out of the Coalition’s sails… okay, they don’t have much to boast about in any case, but it was forcing Abbott to keep his head down and avoid the media on all kinds of other important issues. Hard to show leadership when you’re hiding in a cupboard. I’m also disappointed because the likelihood is that this is the end of it. As others have mentioned, Bishop was simply the most odious and intransigent of a collage of dodgy or inappropriate use of entitlements. Abbott and others repaid and walked away (except, of course, the hapless Peter Slipper). Now if anyone thinks that Abbott’s “review” of the entitlements system is going to make serious changes, they don’t know how politics works.

  19. Anomander

    Qantas and three helicopter charter companies have already issued profit downgrades for the coming financial year.

  20. ken

    Given her form I would like to think that the ATO will now go back and examine all her past returns.Its difficult to see that this was the only way she was taking the taxpayers for a ride.

  21. corvus boreus

    Anomander,
    Flag manufacturers remain optimistic.

  22. stephentardrew

    Tony Baloney next.

  23. Matters Not

    I’m quite disappointed in this.

    So am I. Now, very much a missed political opportunity for the ‘Opposition’.

    Should have waited to ‘see the whites of their eyes’ before delivering the ‘coup de grâce’.

    All ‘tactics’ and no ‘strategy’.

    But I’m not surprised.

  24. stephentardrew

    Shorten the limp wet ingenuous rag.

  25. pudden'head

    VII
    Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
    Your Winter-garment of Repentance fling:
    The Bird of Time has but a little way
    To flutter–and the Bird is on the Wing.

    Bye unfair lady

  26. corvus boreus

    I will observe a minute devoted to respectful hyena cackling in honour of the departure, by chartered bronnie-copter, of the newly-former madam probationary speaker…

    …., cheers Bishop (B), I hope they install a stone gargoyle posed as a scavenging vulture, painted and gilded, upon the eaves of Parliament House, in order to commemorate your long and costly service in those corridors and halls.

    Moving forward, as they say, to misquote stephentardrew, ‘now for her political love child’.

    Tony Abbott has be called to account for his actions on two separate aspects of this affair.

    One is concerning Tony’s judgement regarding his appointments.
    Presumably, he will once again make the ‘captain’s call’ upon the replacement for his last misjudgement as speaker of the house as his last pick departs (with a 400-7 scorecard) amidst a cloud of public outrage and contempt over her parasitic behavior.
    Meanwhile, Tony’s personal choice as VP of Fair Work Australia, Michael Lawler, is on a 9 month paid sickie whilst helping his defacto, former HSU honcho Cathy Jackson, try to avoid defending charges of having allegedly rorted hundreds of thousands in union funds and blown them on holidays, posh-nosh and fancy booze, fine furnishings and boob-jobs.
    Top calls there, cap’n. If you picked your nose with one finger and your arse with another, you wouldn’t know which one to lick.

    The other concern is the PM’s own behavior concerning entitlements, junkets and rorts.
    He slugs us for him going to the footy and weddings.
    We pay for him attending parties and fundraisers on account of quick photo-op pit-stops.
    He wanted us to pay for him to try to sell his book.
    He even picks our pockets to wrap himself in pink/purple lycra (plastered with logos) and red mini-mankinis.
    This helps explain why Tony saw no fundamental problem in the repeated actions of the former speaker (wink).

    Now he expects us to entirely trust him with the appointments and frames of reference of a ‘reform inquiry’ into ‘fixing the system’?

  27. jagman48

    Matters not. Was just waiting to see how long it would take to blame Labor. Well done.

  28. Sir ScotchMistery

    @Hemingway13, as a politician, she hasn’t been excised. That cancer can only be cut out by the octogenarian f*ck-knuckles who keep electing her.

  29. pudden'head

    Careful with the octo f.n., bit Sir Scotch or I may have to hide you from my 85 year old Granny. If you think Bronwyn was trouble you should start trembling if she (my Gran) knocks on your door. I can assure you she is bloody frightening. For safety sake I have hesitated from telling her that I agree with you.

  30. Sally K

    @hemingway13, it probably was Emperor Murdoch’s choice through his tabloid attack dogs. He could dispose of Abbott just as quickly in the same way, if he chose and when the whim takes him.

  31. Möbius Ecko

    You can’t make this stuff up, and no surprise that self privilege at this level of stupidity can only come from a Liberal.

    Bromwyn Bishop has told Liberal members that her Chief of Staff would make a good replacement to take over her seat. You know the same CoS she implicated in approving her travel expense forms without scrutiny.

  32. Möbius Ecko

    Also I’m a little confused. Maybe NoS can clear it up since he supposedly knows Abbott is a straight forward speaker.

    Bishop’s resignation came “unprompted” after she did nothing wrong.

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