Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot's close ally Bronwyn Bishop has resigned as Speaker of the lower house of Parliament - the House of Representative - over the travel expenses scandal.
Tony Abbott made the announcement on Sunday. He said that Bishop has tendered her resignation as Speaker of the House to governor general Peter Cosgrove.
"Regrettably, not withstanding rules that this government put in place ... there are still too many situations where members of parliament can do things that are inside entitlement, but outside public expectations," Abbott said while making announcement, according to The Guardian.
The Australian Prime Minister announced a review of the entitlements system and promised fundamental reforms on parliamentarians' spending powers in wake of the scandal.
"Today I announce that there will be a fundamental review of members of parliament's entitlement. This will be a very wide ranging review indeed it won't just be tinkering with the system. It will start from first principles it will provide us with a wholly new system that the public can have confidence in," Abbott told reporters, according to Independent.
Bishop, who used 5,000 Australian dollars in public funds to charter a helicopter to attend a political fundraiser, has apologised and offered to pay back money, according to BBC.
"I have not taken this decision lightly. 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.
The #PutYourWalletsOut hashtag quickly started trending on twitter in wake of Bishop's resignation with citizens posting pictures of their wallets outside their doors, according to SBS.
