In earlier times when the king was very powerful, he would usually only call the parliament together in order to get it to agree to new taxes. The speaker would report parliament’s decisions to the king. This was dangerous if it was not what the king wanted to hear. It was not uncommon for early speakers to be beheaded, with another being "murdered". This has led to the modern symbolic show of refusal by a member on being elected speaker. In early days a member’s struggle to avoid being forced into the chair could have been completely genuine. In Australia the tradition is continued by the act of the new speaker being escorted to the chair.