Peter Slipper - Speaker of The House of Representatives

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.