The prime minister, Tony Abbott, says Bronwyn Bishop has admitted an “error of judgment” in making a $5,000 travel claim for helicopter charter to attend a Liberal party fundraiser, but insisted that she would not be stepping down as Speaker while the Department of Finance investigation takes place.

“She’s a good speaker, she has my confidence,” he told reporters in Queensland on Saturday.

The federal police said on Friday night that the finance department, which oversees government expenditure, would conduct the initial investigation and decide on further action, including whether a criminal investigation should take place, under the Minchin Protocol.



The AFP said it had received a number of complaints from the public concerning Bishop’s use of entitlements.

The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, called on the AFP to investigate after the claim was revealed. Bishop quickly agreed to pay back the $5,227 in taxpayers’ money, plus a mandatory 25% penalty, while denying any wrongdoing.

The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, says the investigation will be done at “arm’s length” from the political level of government and claimed Labor was trying to “politically exploit” the situation by referring the matter to the AFP.

Other senior government colleagues of Bishop have either distanced themselves or been openly critical of the claim for a 90km flight from Melbourne to a Geelong golf club for a party function.



The treasurer, Joe Hockey, in a radio interview earlier this week agreed the expenses claim did not pass “the sniff test”.

“Look, instinctively it doesn’t,” Hockey told 2UE.

Liberal party frontbencher Steve Ciobo also said it was not a good look. “I can certainly understand that on the face of what’s been presented so far it would seem to be of concern,” he said.

Shorten earlier called on Abbott to say whether he continued to have confidence in the Speaker, describing it as “a test of his leadership”.

“If Mr Abbott does not repudiate the actions of his captain’s pick, the Speaker of the parliament, then he is effectively endorsing a view which says that they are so important they don’t even have to drive on the same roads as the rest of Australians,” Shorten said.

The opposition wants Bishop to release the form she signed to claim $5,227.27 for chartered flights from Melbourne to Geelong and back on 5 November 2014.



A spokesman for Bishop declined on Friday to clarify the details of the form the Speaker filled in, but defended her conduct.

“The Speaker’s not going to make any more comment until the police have considered the referral and she stands by her previous statement,” the spokesman said.

She also did not intend to stand down while the AFP considered the matter.

The AFP pursued a previous speaker, Peter Slipper, over his use of taxi vouchers to visit wineries outside Canberra in 2010.



In 2014 a magistrate convicted Slipper of dishonestly causing a risk of loss to the commonwealth and ordered him to repay the $954.



But Slipper won a legal battle to overturn the conviction in February 2015. In doing so, the Australian Capital Territory supreme court highlighted considerable uncertainty over the definition of parliamentary business.

Slipper repeatedly argued he was a victim of double standards given other MPs had been allowed to repay expenses under the Minchin Protocol.

When sexual harassment and entitlement misuse claims were levelled at Slipper, Abbott called on the then prime minister, Julia Gillard, to ensure the Speaker stood down and also called for an AFP investigation.



“It is untenable that a member of parliament facing serious allegations of sexual harassment and criminal misuse of entitlements should hold one of the most senior positions in the Australian parliament,” Abbott, who was opposition leader, said at the time.



“In the same way that ministers in the past have been stood down from the ministry while matters were being investigated, the prime minister must ensure that the Speaker stand aside until this matter is resolved.”

It now appears that the Liberal party has removed from its website the transcript of Abbott calling for Slipper to step down while the AFP investigated the claims against him.

Check this out. RT @HogesyHoges: I wonder what was here that was deleted overnight? http://t.co/tmWknslZAi Found it: https://t.co/3SdBEb8OoK — Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) July 18, 2015

Independent senator Nick Xenophon says he will seek parliament’s support for an independent entitlements umpire to which the public can take complaints.



He plans to introduce a bill which will require politicians to submit their travel disclosures every 30 days and make their travel details public.



“This whole choppergate saga needs to be a catalyst for real change in terms of parliamentary entitlements,” Senator Xenophon told Sky News.



But he stopped short of suggesting Bishop should step down from the role.