Bishop drops Abbott bombshell during farewell
In Bronwyn Bishopâs valedictory speech to the parliament she said she was âasked to resign to protect Tony Abbottâ. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.
PT0M29S 620 349After three decades in federal politics, Liberal icon and fallen speaker Bronwyn Bishop has formally farewelled Parliament, firing a warning shot at former prime minister Tony Abbott over his role in her demise.
Before a quiet House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, Mrs Bishop said she was forced to step down as speaker to protect Mr Abbott and spoke proudly of her "moving" time in the position.
It's not the end. It is simply a change of course and I look forward to serving further.
Bronwyn Bishop
"That came to an end when I was asked to resign to protect Tony Abbott, someone whom I had assisted and worked with and respected for many years," she said.
Bronwyn Bishop delivered her farewell speech to Parliament House on Wednesday. Photo: Andrew Meares
"There is much more than meets the eye in that saga, but not for now."
Mr Abbott was not present for the address. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull arrived partway through.
In April, Mrs Bishop lost a preselection battle in her seat of Mackellar after conservative and moderate party members and senior Liberal figures, including the former prime minister, formed a coalition against her.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott congratulates Senator Bill Heffernan after the Senator delivered his valedictory speech earlier on Wednesday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
A fellow conservative and former ally, Mr Abbott once described himself as the political love child of Mrs Bishop and former prime minister John Howard.
However the pair fell out after the "choppergate" scandal and Mr Abbott forced Mrs Bishop to resign from the position in August. She then backed Malcolm Turnbull in September's leadership spill.
Paying tribute to retiring MPs on Wednesday night, Mr Abbott singled out Ian Macfarlane, Bruce Billson, Bill Heffernan, Bob Baldwin and Michael Ronaldson but failed to mention the woman he made speaker.
Mrs Bishop's family listening to the former speaker deliver her valedictory speech. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
In her speech, Mrs Bishop joked that the risk for a speaker today wasn't that they would be executed, as happened when the position was created in England, "but because, maybe, there was an expense problem or two".
She listed the highlights of her long career, including as a minister in the Howard government.
She pointed to blazing a trail for women in politics and spoke of achievements in the defence and aged care portfolios, as well as her fearsome reputation in Senate committee hearings.
In the 1990s, then senator Bishop was touted as leadership material in the struggling Liberal Party, prompting her switch to the blue ribbon seat on Sydney's northern beaches.
She described her decision not to run in the leadership contest of 1994, instead backing eventual winner Alexander Downer, as a "mistake".
In closing, Mrs Bishop said her departure from Parliament is "not the end".
"It is simply a change of course and I look forward to serving further."
