While the question of his continued confidence in Mrs Bishop as the chief guardian of standards would inevitably have arisen, Mr Abbott also would have faced questions about the racism furore around former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, and developments regarding the aviation disasters of MH17 and MH370. Tony Abbott at the Boao Forum for Asia in Sydney. Credit:Michele Mossop Leadership on the poor treatment of Goodes was instead left to NSW Liberal Premier Mike Baird, despite the issue's importance to national cohesion and the maintenance of social harmony. Ms Bishop's apology has been greeted with bemusement by colleagues, who say after nearly three weeks of the Speaker refusing to say sorry, her mea culpa was too late and self-serving. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wasted no time dismissing it as a tactical manouevre aimed at Mrs Bishop's own survival.

"There's a difference between saying sorry because you mean it and saying sorry because you're about to get the sack," he said. Mrs Bishop on Thursday. Credit:Tom Morrison/ Latrobe Valley Express He said if Mrs Bishop was genuine, she would not have previously refused to apologise. The Speaker - who is set to face a no-confidence motion if she survives in the job until Parliament resumes on August 10 - used a doorstop press conference in regional Victoria to admit for the first time that her use of a charter helicopter to travel to and from a Liberal Party fundraiser in Geelong, at a cost of more than $5000, was "just ridiculous" and "inexcusable". "It was too much money," she told reporters. "It just looked wrong. Although it's within the rules, it just doesn't look right and therefore I am apologising and repaying."

Senior Coalition figures are in no doubt as to the scale of the confidence crisis around the Speaker, with such ministers as Treasurer Joe Hockey displaying frustration at having to answer questions on the subject. In recognition of the collapse of public confidence caused by Mrs Bishop's performance, rising Liberal star and potential frontbencher Kelly O'Dwyer called for the Finance Department's investigation into the Speaker's travel claims to be fully disclosed. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton appeared to set a new low watermark for public accountability of politicians and how they claim entitlements by declaring the allowance rules were adequate, that merely paying back the money if caught was sufficient, and that deliberate breaches were unlikely. "If people breach the rules, even inadvertently, there's a penalty you pay; you repay the money," he told Macquarie Radio. "But there are no crooks in politics in my judgment."

Privately, Liberals are incensed that the "choppergate" scandal has not been resolved, with many arguing it is a distraction that has crippled the government's public messaging. One MP said it could only end one way, with Mrs Bishop's resignation being "clearly" in the best interests of her party. In April 2012, Mr Abbott himself laid out the reasons why the then prime minister, Julia Gillard, should intervene because of charges over travel entitlement abuse and sexual harassment claims associated with Peter Slipper. "The Speaker is the guardian of parliamentary standards," he said. "The speakership is one of the most important offices in the Parliament. The Speaker is there to uphold the integrity of the Parliament and now we have very, very serious allegations against the incumbent Speaker ... The prime minister, to uphold the integrity of the Parliament, needs now to require the Speaker to step down until these matters are resolved."