Tamil Diplomat

Australian speaker Bishop quits

Ms Bishop, an ally of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, had used A$5,000 (£2,300) in public funds to charter a helicopter to attend a political fundraiser.She also claimed expenses for attending colleagues’ weddings. Mr Abbott said Ms Bishop’s resignation was the right decision to take.

He announced that the parliamentary expenses system would now be reviewed.”It won’t just be tinkering with the system,” he told reporters. “Plainly, the system that we have is deficient. The public deserves to be absolutely confident taxpayers’ money is not being abused.”

Mr Abbott has himself had to pay back money spent on travel in the past.he helicopter flight in question was between Melbourne to Geelong – a journey of 65 km (40 miles).Ms Bishop has apologized and is paying back the helicopter costs but had, until Sunday, resisted calls to resign.

“I have not taken this decision lightly,” she said in a statement announcing her resignation.”It is because of my love and respect for the institution of parliament and the Australian people that I have resigned as speaker,” she added.

Australia’s Department of Finance will review 10 years’ worth of Mrs Bishop’s travel claims and is due to report back “as soon as possible”.However, it is not clear if that report will be released to the public.(BBC-2015).