Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop
IN PHOTO: Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop listens to a speech in Australia's Parliament House in Canberra in this picture taken November 17, 2014. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on August 2, 2015 announced a wide-ranging inquiry into politicians’ entitlements after a scandal that plagued his government for weeks claimed the scalp of Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop. Bishop, 72, a close Abbott ally and presiding officer in the lower house of parliament, tendered her resignation after being criticised for spending over A$5,000 in public funds to charter a helicopter to attend a fundraiser for the ruling Liberal Party. Picture taken November 17, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray

Every day, a new chapter opens in the Bronwyn Bishop travel expenses scandal. Today, Deputy Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce came in support of the Speaker and appealed to allow her a second chance. He believes that Bishop should not resign but continue as a Speaker in the Parliament in order to fix up things.

Joyce has now come to the defence of the speaker. “I’m not going to start throwing stones at Bronwyn,” he told Sky News on Sunday. He added, “If she has made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes.” He said the speaker should also get the chance to make things right, which she has promised earlier.

On the other hand, the leader of the United Party, Clive Palmer, criticised Prime Minister Tony Abbott for his non-action, saying that he should show some leadership on such contentious issue. “If she can’t run her entitlements, how can Abbott run the country, that’s what people say,” Palmer told ABC TV criticising both Bishop and Abbott.

Madam Speaker is accused of using the taxpayer money for her personal tour to the Liberty Party fundraiser. She spent more than AU$5000 on hiring a helicopter to travel to the function. Her expenditures, however, do not end here. On Sunday, News Corp reported that she used more than AU$1000 on two car trips the same day in order to attend the opening ceremony of “Yes, Prime Minister” at a theatre in Sydney along with two staffers.

According to news site, the taxpayers have paid more than $260,000 over the last five years on chauffeured cars and private-plated vehicles, which the Speaker used to travel across Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and other cities.

The reports of Fairfax Media said that because of the scandal and criticisms, Bishop cancelled her trip to the US to attend an international summit of parliamentary speakers at the end of August. This tour was also supposed to be borne from the taxpayer fund. In spite of apologising for chartering the helicopter and repaying the money, Bishop has to go through criticisms almost every day since the issue was reported.

UPDATE: Bishop has yielded to public pressure. She tendered her resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives to Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on Sunday. She continues to serve in her NSW electorate of Mackellar.

"I have not taken this decision lightly, however it is because of my love and respect for the institution of Parliament and the Australian people that I have resigned as Speaker," she said in a statement.

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