It requires a change of thinking from the top down. A working majority in the House of Representatives should provide all the protection any prime minister needs. The idea of buttressing that protection with a compliant Speaker is inherently unfair, undemocratic, and contrary to the best traditions of Westminster. It can't have been easy for Tony Abbott to ease out his mentor Bronwyn Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen With that in mind, a number of Coalition names has already been floated, ranging from the recently dudded government whip, Philip Ruddock, to former Howard minister and Queensland Nat, Bruce Scott, and the respected Victorian moderate Russell Broadbent. All are good men. All are also men. And let's be frank, tending towards being old men at that. The low profile Broadbent is the youngest at 64. As a long-term thorn in the side of many wielding power in the government, there is a good case for his consideration. He is a credit to the Parliament.

Both Scott and Ruddock have been around forever having been born in 1943. Each is liked across the aisle and could no doubt perform creditably. But at 72, the two veteran lawmakers are the same age as Bishop, and are already two years beyond the compulsory retirement ages of High Court judges. This may not rule them out by itself, but it is a factor. Veteran Philip Ruddock has been suggested as a possible replacement for Speaker Bronwyn Bishop. Credit:Andrew Meares Clive Palmer has suggested the rural Victorian independent in the seat of Indi, Cathy McGowan. Prima facie, this makes eminent sense. McGowan is fair, smart, calm, and could offer genuine independence. In the wake of Speaker Bishop's cloying partisanship, those qualities would be invaluable. Yet Indi is a hotly contested marginal seat, and McGowan is fully consumed defending it against the feisty Liberal she replaced last time around, Sophie Mirabella. And that too is an issue. Unlike the above-named men, McGowan is a rookie. That alone probably rules her out of a job that requires experience and an intimate knowledge of complex standing orders, and arcane conventions. Independent MP Cathy McGowan has had her invitation to give the Mary Mackillop Oration withdrawn due to her views on same sex marriage. Credit:Andrew Meares

Assuming then that the next Speaker must come from the governing parties, there is an opportunity to use the selection to make a bolder statement of intent than the above - worthy as each is. Why not use the elevation to send the signal that Parliament is capable of reforming itself, of becoming more modern, more relevant, more representative. There are good women to choose from. Teresa Gambaro, Jane Prentice, and Sharman Stone come to mind. Sharman Stone's willingness to speak out about the Liberal Party's poor record in promoting women shows she can speak truth to power. Credit:Andrew Meares Dr Stone made an impassioned plea earlier this week in favour of affirmative action. Her willingness to bell the cat over the poor record of her party in selecting women showed she can speak truth to power - an all too rare thing in today's message-disciplined politics. But it was her attack on the pointlessness of much of the parliamentary theatre that makes her the ideal choice. Question time, she decreed after years of watching from the inside, is "rubbish". In her estimation, Parliament has become a vaudeville of gestural nonsense with the nation's problems and the responsibilities of representation playing second fiddle to boys' games and to politicians of preening self-importance.

Wouldn't that be a step forward? To replace the rancorous Bishop not with another suit, but with another strong but this time independently minded woman. Loading A woman who has already marked herself out as a non-believer in the corrupt power games and mock debates which do so much to erode public confidence in our politics. Follow us on Twitter