So, naturally, someone went digging around in her expenses for 2014, and it ain’t small: $811,857.
That someone was the Daily Telegraph, who revealed that the Speaker of the House claimed $309,581.99 in overseas trips, $47,086.14 in domestic trips, $32,471.12 in limousine travel, and $350,909.63 in office costs last year.
Maaaaaaaate. That figure doesn’t even include two extra charter flights that were too close to the reporting deadline to be declared.
She’s repaid the taxpayer’s money for the Melbourne 
Geelong flight, but plenty of people – including Bill Shorten – are calling for her resignation, and Joe Hockey made everyone’s sinuses simultaneously block up in protest when he said it didn’t pass the “sniff test“.
Only Tony Abbott is supporting her at this point, applauding her for paying the money back, saying he still had confidence in her, and that she was doing a good job.
(That “good job” includes telling Gillian Triggs, human legend and popular contender for Australian of the Year, to resign from her role as president of the Human Rights Commission live on Q&A, so SHRUGGING TILL THE END OF DAYS HERE.)
In the swinging cannon of criticism aimed at politicians, former Liberal Leader John Hewson has in turn chewed out Abbott for staying loyal, saying it’s going to hurt him politically.
“He’s got to nip it in the bud, it’s just going to run hard against him,” Hewson told Sky News – although according to Independent senator Nick Xenephon, Bishop is “one of the Prime Minister’s favourites” and will likely keep her job.
Meanwhile, Bishop’s expenses will be up for internal government investigation, according to the ABC, who must be gloating just a little bit right now that one of the government’s own is up for scrutiny.
Updated July 20 at 12:40pm
Bronwyn Bishop has now been put on probation. Tony Abbott is still holding his position of support, while also saying that she’s “copped a justifiable hiding.”
“I can really understand why people are unhappy about this. Frankly, I’m unhappy as well. She has been a strong Speaker… she has been a strong servant of our country and so she does have my confidence but like everyone who has done something like this, inevitably, for a period of time, they are on probation.”
via Daily Telegraph / Fairfax / ABC
