Embattled Australian politician Bronwyn Bishop stepped down as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Sunday in the face of public opprobrium and increasingly sharp criticism from her colleagues.
Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Bishop had tendered her resignation to the Governor-General at a press conference Sunday afternoon.
Bishop had been embroiled in an expense scandal for weeks. In an incident that spawned one thousand memes and the hashtag #choppergate, Bishop was accused of spending more than A$5,000 worth of taxpayer funds on a rather short helicopter flight from Melbourne to Geelong. She apologised for the expensive commute last week, some said belatedly, and voluntarily paid back the money.
On Saturday, a report in the Daily Telegraph suggested the former speaker had spent around A$6,000 on a 160 kilometre (99.4 miles) flight from Sydney to Nowra in 2014 to attend a party fundraiser.
Abbott stopped short of saying Bishop had committed any wrongdoing and refused to comment on whether she should have left her position earlier. Instead, he announced "a root and branch review" of the use of entitlements by members of parliament.
Abbott insisted the issue was not about just one person. "It's become increasingly apparent ... that there is a significant disconnect between what's in the rules and community expectations," he said.
Calling her a "friend and colleague," Abbott said the day had obviously been a difficult one for Bronwyn Bishop.
"I have not taken this decision lightly," Bishop said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Mackellar."
Bronwyn Bishop has released this statement following the tendering of her resignation as Speaker. #9News pic.twitter.com/17hZfzku3o— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) August 2, 2015
The opposition leader Bill Shorten called for Bishop's resignation at a press conference earlier on Sunday.
Largely unloved by the Australian people, or at least the Twitterverse, news of the Speaker's exit was greeted with glee on social media.
#gonewyn— Dom Knight (@domknight) August 2, 2015
We now cross live to Bronwyn Bishop. pic.twitter.com/wWhwBhpqYb— Benjamin Law (@mrbenjaminlaw) August 2, 2015
Perfect opportunity for channel Ten to get Bron and Ange to tag team red carpets together like Joan and Melissa Rivers #choppergate— James Weir (@hellojamesweir) August 2, 2015
Bronwyn Bishop resigns as Speaker – politics live http://t.co/saSIquXuqW #auspol pic.twitter.com/mFiTvg7bkT— Clare C (@ClareCLegit) August 2, 2015
PM: "No one* who saw [Bronwyn] on TV the other day could be in doubt of her remorse." * literally everyone— ABC News Intern (@ABCnewsIntern) August 2, 2015
Bronwyn Bishop resigns! http://t.co/Wq1WdhUAtw #BronwynBishop pic.twitter.com/D634hezbhF— kenton penley miller (@KentonPenley) August 2, 2015
Exclusive image of Bronwyn Bishop post resignation as Speaker. #auspol #bronniecopter #LNPfail #onetermtony pic.twitter.com/EsZewiMXqf— Brendan (@ozfinn) August 2, 2015
Exclusive pic of Speaker Bronwyn Bishop leaving parliament. #auspol #choppergate pic.twitter.com/PWjZPKmnfg— Jack Cornwell (@jackmcornwell) August 2, 2015
Abbott did not speculate on who the new parliamentary Speaker could be.