Bronwyn Bishop's position is becoming "increasingly untenable" amid speculation she may not survive as Speaker to see the return of Parliament and the revelation that she is now set to face a no-confidence motion from two crossbench MPs, Andrew Wilkie and Clive Palmer.
Adding to the pressure on the Speaker is a News Corporation report late on Wednesday that Mrs Bishop charged taxpayers $320 for a 1999 trip to Melbourne during which she attended the wedding of Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger and Anne Peacock at Crown Casino.
The report follows revelations she made travel allowance claims to attend the weddings of two other Coalition colleagues.
But as calls for her resignation intensify, the embattled Speaker is also being urged to hang tough, with the government's manager of government business in the House of Representatives, Christopher Pyne, calling on colleagues not to fall into the trap of the previous Labor government, by jumping "at the first whiff of grapeshot".
Three weeks after the first story of her taxpayer-funded helicopter soiree became public, senior Coalition figures contacted by Fairfax Media have admitted privately that the controversyis doing "massive" harm to the government.
One minister called it "the number one issue" being discussed by voters.
He said it was now imperative that the situation be "sorted" before the Parliament sits again on August 10.
Criticism of the veteran political warrior is not limited to background comments either with the deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop and Social Services Minister Scott Morrison both stopping short of supporting her in public interviews, instead emphasising the responsibilities of all MPs to maintain standards of accountability.
Another, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, conspicuously used buses and trains to show how cheap public transport can be.
"I understand that the Labor Party will seek to use this to destabilise question time for example and I'm sure Speaker Bishop will take that into account as she considers her position," the Foreign Affairs Minister told the Nine Network from New York.
While she said it was important that the Department of Finance "be able to carry out an investigation", Fairfax Media has been told by the same department that it has no intention of making the results of its investigation into the Speaker public, citing longstanding practice.
Mr Morrison pointedly reserved passing a public judgment, but he did confirm to reporters that Mrs Bishop had been canvassing support among colleagues.
"If I have anything to pass on to the Speaker I will do it privately and not offer public lectures on these things," he said.
"The Speaker is consulting with her colleagues and I think that's the appropriate place for those discussions to take place."
Former minister and NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos acknowledged that the controversy had dragged on for three weeks and was a major distraction for the government.
Labor leader Bill Shorten called the controversy "a soap opera" and prevailed on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to take the steps necessary to restore integrity to the Parliament.
"Put simply, Mr Abbott has to act - Bronwyn Bishop has to go," Mr Shorten said.
But Mr Pyne counselled against being intimidated by a media and opposition campaign declaring Mrs Bishop was not going anywhere.
"She's doing a very good job as Speaker and she retains my full support," he told Sky News.
The crossbench sponsored no-confidence motion is set to receive the backing of the ALP, but while it promises further humiliation for Mrs Bishop - assuming she remains in the post - it is destined to fail for lack of a majority in the House of Representatives where the government is formed.
Meanwhile, Mrs Bishop continues to suffer private and public ridicule for her past claims of travel allowance, and her refusal to provide supporting documentation that the travel contained any official components.
As for the $5227.27 helicopter travel to Geelong from Melbourne, which Mrs Bishop has already repaid, its extravagance was laid bare on Wednesday when Mr Turnbull undertook a similar journey using rail and buses for a total bill of less than $12.
His willingness to provide contemporaneous social media commentary of his travel to Geelong to meet Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson, reveals the desperation of many government figures to distance themselves from Mrs Bishop's excesses, which Liberals say are causing serious ongoing damage to the Abbott government brand.
with Chloe Booker
