Published November 20, 2014
The speaker of Australia's Parliament has resigned, weakening the government's tenuous grip on power.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard's center-left Labor Party government recruited Peter Slipper from opposition ranks to the speaker's post last year in a move that effectively gave her administration a two-seat majority on most votes in the House of Representatives.
Because a speaker can only vote to break a tie, Slipper's promotion freed up his predecessor's vote for Labor.
Since then, an independent lawmaker has withdrawn his support for the government.
Slipper resigned on Tuesday over fallout from a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
With Labor lawmaker Anna Burke elected to replace him, Gillard has now become reliant on Slipper as an independent lawmaker to pass her legislative agenda.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/australias-parliamentary-speaker-resigns-weakening-governments-hold-on-power