Posted 04/08/2015 by Nicholas Horne
The resignation of the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP as Speaker of the House of Representatives on 2 August 2015 is the ninth resignation of a Speaker since 1901, and the third such resignation since 2011.
There have been 31 Speakers since Federation. The election of a new Speaker by the House of Representatives when Parliament resumes on 10 August 2015 will take the total to 32.
Section 35 of the Australian Constitution provides that the House of Representatives must choose a member to be Speaker ‘before proceeding to the despatch of any other business’.
Under section 3 of the Parliamentary Presiding Officers Act 1965 (Cth), a Speaker who resigns the office is deemed to continue as Speaker ‘for the purposes of the exercise of any powers or functions’ by the Speaker until a new Speaker is chosen. This also applies in relation to a President of the Senate who resigns the office.
Speakers have most commonly departed the office due to a change of government or because they have not being nominated/elected for a further term as Speaker. Two Speakers have died in office (Hon Sir Frederick Holder (FT; PROT; AS), in July 1909, and Hon Archie Cameron (CP; Lib; LCL; Lib) in August 1956).
Speaker
|
Resignation
|
| Walter Nairn (Nationalist; UAP) |
June 1943 |
| Hon James Cope (ALP) |
February 1975 |
| Hon Dr Henry Jenkins (ALP) |
December 1985* |
| Hon Joan Child (ALP) |
August 1989 |
| Hon Leo McLeay (ALP) |
February 1993 |
| Hon Robert Halverson (Lib) |
March 1998 |
| Harry Jenkins (ALP) |
November 2011 |
| Hon Peter Slipper (NAT; Lib; Ind) |
October 2012 |
| Hon Bronwyn Bishop (Lib) |
August 2015 |
* Resigned from Parliament
ALP - Australian Labor Party; AS - Anti-Socialist Party; CP - Country Party; FT - Free Trade Party; Ind – Independent; Lib - Liberal Party; LCL - Liberal Country League; NAT – National Party; PROT – Protectionist; UAP – United Australia Party.