Labor has nominated Anna Burke as the new speaker of the House of Representatives. Her nomination was put forward by Labor MP Kirsten Livermore.
'It's a great pleasure and a great honour to do that for her and do that on behalf of my colleagues,' Ms Livermore told the parliament.
'Anna and I were elected to this parliament together in 1998. In that time she has been a very loyal friend, a greatly respected colleague.'
Ms Livermore told the chamber there were no doubts in anyone's mind about Ms Burke's ability to do the job.
'There are no doubts about her claim to this job,' she said.
Her election would be a terrific development.
Ms Livermore acknowledged it had been a 'difficult and unusual' day.
'This is probably not the way that she might have chosen for it to come about,' she said.
'But that's not to take anything away from the member for Chisholm as she steps up to accept this, the highest role in the parliament of Australia.'
Ms Burke was elected as Speaker unopposed.
The House of Representatives broke into applause after Ms Burke accepted the nomination.
The motion was seconded by Kelvin Thomson, who credited Ms Burke's work as the member for Chisholm and steering it 'from its former status as a swinging marginal seat'.
'She is the obvious person to succeed the member for Fisher (Peter Slipper) as Speaker,' he said.
'No one in the house having heard or seen or heard her in action would be surprised that government members are nominating her for this position.'
Mr Thomson said Ms Burke had the knowledge, experience and even-handedness to carry out the role.
'This will be a proud moment (for her family),' he said.
He said Ms Burke was the right person to help the lower house 'heal' after a tumultuous few months.
Ms Livermore said she was sure Ms Burke's husband Steve and her children Madeleine and John would be proud of her.
'You were such a team player. You were really there looking out for all of us as members of parliament and really doing you role exceptionally well,' she said.
'We look forward to serving under you and to serving the people of Australia as you bring the parliament to even higher standards in the way that we know you can do so well.'
The Queensland MP said Ms Burke was a worthy person for the speaker's chair.
'There is no better local member in this place than the member for Chisholm,' Ms Livermore said.
'She's hard working, she's one of her electorate.'
