Australia's federal speaker apologizes for highly-publicized expense claims scandal

The embattled Speaker of Australia's parliament, Bronwyn Bishop, Thursday apologized for her highly-publicized expense claims furor, three weeks after it first came to light.

Bishop came under fire earlier this month when it was revealed that, in 2014, she used taxpayer dollars to pay for a chartered helicopter flight to a private fundraising event.

The flight, which would normally take just one hour in a car, cost the Australian people 3,820 U.S dollars while, this week, a second investigation revealed she also claimed travel expenses to attend a private wedding for a colleague back in 2006.

Despite opposition calls for Bishop to be fired, the speaker denied she would be standing down on Thursday, instead apologizing for her "error of judgment."

"I feel I have let down the Australian people," she said.

"I want to apologize to the Australian people for my error of judgment and to say sorry.

"I won't be resigning but I will be working very hard to make sure that I mean my apology to the Australian people."

She said she would be repaying her claimed expenses, despite maintaining the claims adhered to party rules.

"I'll be repaying all expenses related to weddings, which while technically in the rules just doesn't look right," Bishop said.

"No matter what anybody else has done, there's no excuse for what I did with the helicopter."

Bishop refused to apologize for the first 15 days of the scandal, however recent statements from Liberal colleagues described Bishop's actions as "unconscionable" and her position " untenable", with one MP saying they were "ropable", forcing Bishop to break her silence.

Cross-bench MPs have indicated they will move for a vote of no confidence against Bishop when parliament resume in August, however leader of the House Christopher Pyne has backed the speaker to retain her position. Endi