That will occur in Parliament on Monday, with Coalition backbencher Tony Smith considered one of the frontrunners for the plum job. "I don't care if Tony Smith's the Speaker now: if he wants his chair back, he's going to need a lot of gumption and a crowbar." Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In the meantime, Mrs Bishop is still on her $341,477 a year salary and expected to earn $6567 this week. Once she goes back to being a humble backbencher, she will be on $195,130 a year, or $3752 a week. That means she is set to be paid an extra $2815 in taxpayer cash this week despite not being able to perform any official duties. Fairfax Media asked Mrs Bishop's senior adviser Damien Jones if she will still pocket the Speaker's salary for this week.

"This is not a matter for our office," he said. Bronwyn Bishop. Credit:James Brickwood Comment has been sought from the Department of Finance, which pays MP salaries. Labor's waste watch spokesman Pat Conroy said Mrs Bishop was "in a world of her own if she thinks this is acceptable". Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and manager of opposition business Tony Burke earlier this year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"This is adding insult to injury for Australians who are understandably outraged about 'choppergate'," he said. "If she still has the audacity to be taking home the Speaker's salary after all this, Australians won't stand for that." Mrs Bishop's staff are still working out of the Speaker's suite, five days after she announced she was quitting. The development comes after Fairfax Media revealed Mrs Bishop would retire on a taxpayer-funded pension of $255,000 plus 10 free domestic return flights a year if she were to quit Parliament at the next election. This is calculated on the basis that Mrs Bishop has served more than 18 years in Parliament and is entitled to 75 per cent of the parliamentary base salary, worth $115,000 a year.

But as a former minister and Speaker, she would be paid generous top-ups capped at 75 per cent of the highest paying office held. Having served more than 20 years she also qualifies for the Life Gold Pass travel scheme. Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week declared Mrs Bishop's career was all but over but the veteran Liberal says she plans to recontest her salubrious Sydney seat of Mackellar at the next election. Follow us on Twitter