SUNDAY TELEGRAPH EDITORIAL: Driving Miss Bronny. That’s a headline Tony ­Abbott doesn’t need. And it’s the reason why he must cut Bronwyn Bishop loose.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has always been a political dud, and now she is a real liability; an embarrassment to the ‘adults in charge’ of the Abbott government and to her colleagues, who are sick and tired of defending her. Bishop’s actions are indefensible.

RELATED: Bishop spent $1,071 on chauffeured trips same day she went to ‘freebie’

RELATED: Bronwyn Bishop must go, frontbenchers tell Prime Minister

SAMANTHA MAIDEN: Bishop’s refusal to step down will leave the government reeling

OPINION: Bishop’s backpedalling would have won her a Tour de France stage

EDITORIAL: PM must cut liability Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop loose

The helicopters were just the beginning. Now she’s been taking up to five limousines in one day and ­rejecting the official ComCar fleet because that’s just the way Bronwyn rolls.

Bishop keeps insisting all her travel is within the official guidelines. That includes $90,000 on a trip for herself and two staff to Europe, where she lobbied for a silly international gravy-train job. That’s more than millions of Australian families could dream of earning in a year. Now, as she’s finally forced to apologise for her actions, she has the temerity to suggest a wide- ranging review of politicians’ entitlements.

Too late, Bronwyn. It’s too late to redeem the Speaker. And the problem is she has absolutely no political capital to burn. Her highhanded demeanour in parliament, the overt partisanship with which she runs the chamber’s business, her record of underperformance in previous ministerial portfolios ­(remember the kerosene baths scandal of 2000?) and her record of embarrassing herself with unnecessary controversies (like proposing a Muslim headscarf ban in 2005 and then trying, as Speaker, to ban women wearing burqas from watching parliament), all mean nobody is prepared to defend her.

Except, until now, Tony Abbott. He has already shown he is loyal to a fault; refusing to abandon Joe Hockey despite his manifest flaws as Treasurer.

Loyalty is admirable. Self-defeating stubbornness is just silly.

ADAM GOODES IS NO SOOK BUT A REAL MAN

IF it was ever ‘just good fun’ to boo Adam Goodes, it certainly can never be so again. Goodes is a former Australian of the Year. He is an impressive and admirable Aboriginal man. He has overcome personal and family hardship to achieve great things, and has demonstrated his credentials as a leader on and off the field. More importantly, he has been brave enough to speak about his struggle with depression, and to be honest about the fact he takes it personally when he is abused or insulted by strangers in the crowd.

That doesn’t make him ‘a sook’. It makes him a real man. We’ve been aggressively campaigning for greater awareness of mental ill-health, and the common theme from all experts is that Australia would be a better, and safer, place for all young people if we ­encouraged them to speak up when they are feeling sad, or down, or hurt. To mock Adam Goodes for responding like a human being is breathtaking in its cruelty.

Goodes has at all times conducted himself with dignity and restraint. He does not deserve the bullying of a cowardly mob. We hope he returns to the game sooner rather than later, and we offer him our wholehearted support.