I'm not so sure, Luciferase. The heat was certainly on Peter Slipper even though he was an excellent Speaker.

Bronwyn Bishop has resigned as Speaker of the
House of Representatives about an hour ago.
Mr Abbott now plans an investigation into
the entitlements and privileges of
politicians. Something that has been long overdue
and hopefully good results will be achieved.

It will be interesting to see who the new Speaker
will be. We can only trust that it will be a wiser
and more impartial choice this time around.

cont'd ...

Controversial and polarising figures should be
ruled out from the get-go.
As should old men like Philip Ruddock.

Russell Broadbent would do the job well - and so
would Teresa Gambaro, and Jane Prentice.

My personal favourite is of course Sharman Stone.
She'd be great!

Foxy, why do you think they should rule out "old men like Philip Ruddock"?

I'd expect the Speaker to be s role for which they're well suited.

Dear Aidan,

I didn't express myself very well.

Both Philip Ruddock and Bruce Scott are names being
bandied about for the Speaker's position to replace
Mrs Bishop.

I guess that I tend to think of these men as being
around forever. One commentator pointed out - each is
liked and could no doubt perform credibly but at 72 years
of age -
the two veteran lawmakers are the same age as
Mrs Bishop and are already two years beyond the
compulsory retirement age of High Court Judges.
This may not be important - but it may also be a factor
to consider.

But why do you see that as a negative factor?