Peter Slipper

The Honourable Peter Slipper MP
27th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2011
Deputy	Anna Burke
Preceded by	Harry Jenkins
Deputy Speaker of the House
In office 28 September 2010 – 24 November 2011
Preceded by	Anna Burke
Succeeded by	Anna Burke
Member of the Australian Parliament for Fisher
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 March 1993
Preceded by	Michael Lavarch
In office 1 December 1984 – 11 July 1987
Preceded by	Evan Adermann
Succeeded by	Michael Lavarch
Personal details
Born	Peter Neil Slipper (1950-02-14) 14 February 1950 Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	National (1984–87) Liberal (1993–2011) LNP (2008–11)
Spouse(s)	Inge Jane-Hall
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Profession	Politician, barrister, priest
Religion	Christian (Anglican Catholic Church in Australia)

Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian politician who has served as the 27th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 24 November 2011, after serving as Deputy Speaker following the 2010 election. Previously he had served as a Parliamentary Secretary, Whip and Committee Chairman in the Howard government. In April 2012 he stepped aside as Speaker while charges of fraud and sexual harassment were investigated.

Slipper is an independent member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Fisher, Queensland, a seat which he has held since 1993. He previously represented the same division for the Nationals from 1984 to 1987. Slipper was affiliated with the Liberal Party's Queensland division from 1993 until its merger with the Nationals' Queensland division to form the Liberal National Party of Queensland in 2008, continuing to sit in the federal Liberal Party room until he became an independent upon his election as Speaker in 2011.

Early life

Slipper was born in Ipswich, Queensland, and was educated at Ipswich Grammar School and the University of Queensland. He has worked as a solicitor, barrister and businessman.

Parliament

Slipper was government whip from 1997 to 1998, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration from 1998 to 2004 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003.

In both Government and Opposition, Slipper served on a number of parliamentary committees including the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, where he was Deputy Chairman (2007 to 2010), the Joint Standing Committee on Public Works, the House of Representatives Standing Committees on Family and Community Affairs where he was Chairman (1996 to 1997) and the Legal and Constitutional Affairs (2007 to 2010).

Alleged abuse of travel entitlements

In 2010 Slipper drew significant local and national media attention over the alleged overuse of his parliamentary travel entitlements. Slipper denied any claim of abuse, and it was reported in the local newspaper, Sunshine Coast Daily, that ".... (Slipper had said) nearly every incident was a consequence of either a misunderstanding or a disputable interpretation of the rules." Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, initially backed Slipper, but later publicly stated that it was up to each member to adhere to the rules regarding entitlements.

Slipper has said that he has been cleared of these allegations.

Attempted disendorsement

On 14 August 2010, just as the travel abuse allegations were gaining momentum, it was revealed in the Sunshine Coast Daily that a move had been made to attempt to disendorse Slipper in favour of former MP Mal Brough for his seat of Fisher at the next election. However this move was rejected due to an agreement between the Liberal and National parties about guaranteed endorsement for existing candidates. It is claimed that the Sunshine Coast Daily has led a "savage" campaign to remove Slipper from his seat since the 2007 election when the Coalition lost government.^{[citation needed]}

On 28 September 2010, Slipper accepted Labor's nomination to serve as Deputy Speaker of the House of representatives and was elected to that position by 78 votes to 71, defeating the Coalition nominee, Bruce Scott of the National Party. In December 2010, Brough confirmed his intentions to seek preselection, by running against Slipper.

Concerned about the damage to the LNP's reputation in the electorate, in March 2011 a motion was moved at the party's Federal Divisional Council "that this Council notes the actions of the Member for Fisher in accepting nomination by the Labor Party for the position of Deputy Speaker and competing for this position in opposition to Mr Bruce Scott MP nominated for this position by the coalition parties and expresses its concern over the ongoing negative publicity directed at the Member for Fisher and the resulting damage to the Liberal National Party and requests the Applicant Review Committee to take note and take action as deemed appropriate." According to media reports, the matter was deferred without discussion to the party's state director.

In September 2011, Slipper raised concerns of alleged branch stacking by Brough, and there was growing pressure over how the LNP would determine preselection of candidates for the seat of Fisher, with Slipper threatening to resign from the party if not re-endorsed.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

In November 2011, Harry Jenkins, a member of the Australian Labor Party, unexpectedly resigned as 26th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Slipper was nominated unopposed and installed as Speaker on 24 November 2011. As a member of the opposition, Slipper's acceptance of Labor's nomination as Speaker was considered a "renegade" action and opposition leader Tony Abbott threatened to expel him from the Liberal caucus for his action. Slipper resigned from the Liberal National Party on taking the Speaker's seat and continues in parliament as an independent representative.

Upon his election as Speaker, Slipper moved to restore various traditions of the office of Speaker such as wearing elements of the traditional speaker's dress by not only wearing the gown but also the QC's bar jacket underneath his business attire. Slipper has also taken to wearing a white long tie or bow tie, in a variation from the lace jabot or bands. He also moved to reinstate the longer and more formal Speaker's procession into the House, involving the Serjeant-at-Arms and the Mace. Slipper soon established a no-nonsense reputation in the house, cutting short question time questions and responses and expelling members from the house without warning. Slipper then returned to wearing the wing collar with white bow tie and bands on the occasion of his first formal procession into parliament.

Sexual harassment and new expenses allegations

On 20 April 2012, Slipper was accused of misusing Cabcharge vouchers—an allegation acknowledged as being investigated by the Federal Police. He was also accused of sexually harassing a member of staff, James Ashby. Ashby (a 33-year-old openly gay man) has alleged that Slipper sexually harassed him on a number of occasions, via mobile phone text messages and in private conversations.

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, as well as other senior Opposition figures such as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Eric Abetz, called for Slipper to resign until Ashby's claims are investigated. The Government said it is a legal matter and that they would not be asking for Slipper's resignation. However, on 22 April 2012, Slipper stepped aside from the speakership, meaning he would not take the Speaker's Chair (and therefore not enter the chamber of the House), while investigations into the alleged travel-related misconduct are conducted. The Coalition, as well as Rob Oakeshott, Andrew Wilkie and Tony Windsor, have called on Slipper to continue to stand aside pending a resolution of the sexual harassment claims.

On 27 April 2012, Slipper released copies of Cabcharge documents for at least two of the dates in question (a third group of documents contained illegible dates) along with a written statement saying they were clearly in his handwriting, therefore disproving the allegation he handed over blanks. The Government initially agreed, but various questions about the documents, including whether the payments were inflated and even whether Slipper signed them all, were raised in the media. Julia Gillard announced on 29 April 2012 that she had spoken to Slipper and he had agreed to stay away from the House for "a further period".

Priest

Slipper is chancellor of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), having succeeded Michael Atkinson. In 2008, he was ordained as a priest of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia which is a member church of the Traditional Anglican Communion and considered part of the international Continuing Anglican movement.

See also

• Politics of Australia

External links

• Slipper's biographical information on the Parliament of Australia website
• Slipper's first speech to Parliament (28 February 1985) on the Parliament of Australia website

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Evan Adermann	Member for Fisher 1984–1987	Succeeded by Michael Lavarch
Preceded by Michael Lavarch	Member for Fisher 1993–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Harry Jenkins	Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives 2011–present	Incumbent