Mr Slipper defected from opposition leader Tony Abbot's Liberal Party last year, becoming an independent.

BBC: Australia: Speaker Peter Slipper quits amid sex scandal

The leader of the opposition Liberals, Tony Abbot, has vowed to lead a "ferocious opposition" in the assembly.

BBC: Australia parliament opens after knife-edge election

Public support for Ms Gillard is low and she looks on course to lose the coming election to the Liberal Party's Tony Abbot.

BBC: Australia's Kevin Rudd in party leadership vow

Ms Gillard's defense in parliament in October of Mr Slipper prompted a heated exchange between her and opposition leader Tony Abbot, in which Ms Gillard lambasted Mr Abbot as a misogynist.

BBC: Australian court rejects sex case against former Speaker