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Former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has been praised by her Liberal Party colleagues even as her replacement, Victorian Liberal Tony Smith, took the chair. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has been criticised for failing to act sooner as public outrage grew over Mrs Bishop's use of parliamentary entitlements, left Monday's party room vote for a new Speaker with the member for Mackellar. In front of TV crews, Mr Abbott kissed his political mentor on the cheek. "It should be said of the member for Mackellar, despite some admitted errors of judgment, she has served this Parliament, our country, her party with dedication and distinction for over 30 years," Mr Abbott told Parliament on Monday. "She has been a warrior for the causes that she believed in. "I should also observe, Mr Speaker, that at the close of a very difficult week in his prime ministership, John Howard said 'Politics is a hard and unforgiving business but it is amongst the highest and noblest forms of public service'. "May all of us conduct ourselves so that the public that we serve will better appreciate that in the days and weeks and years to come." Mrs Bishop moved to the backbench on Monday morning after her use of taxpayer funded entitlements forced her resignation. The scandal has engulfed Parliament in recent weeks but, on Monday, the manager of government business, Christopher Pyne, told the House of Representatives that Mrs Bishop "has been felled in most unfair circumstances by politics today". "I do pay tribute to you as the Speaker. I think you have been a great political figure over your 30-year career in Australian politics," Mr Pyne said. "I think you will be remembered that way, always as being a great advocate for the causes in which you believed." Mrs Bishop gained attention for her imbalance in booting MPs out of Parliament: 393 from Labor and seven from the Coalition. Mr Smith promised to be more even-handed in the role, telling Mr Abbott he had friends on both sides of the chamber. "I also want to say I have many friends in this chamber," he said. "I have, Prime Minister, some friends on the other side." The Department of Finance is investigating Mrs Bishop's use of entitlements. Follow us on Twitter

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