He may have fled to Hawaii when the country was burning, but now former Prime Minister Scott Morrison is the one under fire.
While we’re not sure anyone would voluntarily relive the past few years, a new book titled Plagued by journalists Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers is doing just that, specifically with regards to Morrison’s Prime Ministership – and they have revealed some bombshells in the process.
In particular, many Australians were left reeling when they read that Morrison was secretly sworn in as a minister of five extra portfolios during his term as Prime Minister.
Why is Scott Morrison under fire? We’ve explained it all.
(Image: Getty)And when we say secretly – we mean secretly.
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It wasn’t just the Australian public that was kept in the dark, most of the ministers themselves were unaware that they had been demoted to ‘co-minister’.
So what exactly does this mean? Why did Morrison want to be sworn into extra portfolios in the first place? Who actually knew about this? And, perhaps most importantly, why should we care?
He addressed the secret appointments in a press conference.
(Image: Getty)What were the portfolios that Morrison was secretly sworn into?
The then-PM was sworn in to five portfolios within the years of 2020 and 2021. They included:
Department of Health on 14 March 2020
Department of Finance on 30 March 2020
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on 15 April 2021
Department of Home Affairs on 6 May 2021
Department of Treasury on 6 May 2021
Did the existing ministers know about this?
You mean, were the ministers aware that they were secretly being micro-managed? Nope, most of them weren’t.
While Health Minister Greg Hunt was made aware that he now shared his role with Morrison, the other ministers were reportedly left in the dark about the new arrangement.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann had no idea, nor did Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was also unaware.
Meanwhile, Resources Minister Keith Pitt was reportedly advised of Morrison’s new position around 2021 when the PM intervened in a project relating to that department – more on that later.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews was scathing in her response to Scott Morrison.
(Image: Getty)How did the ministers react once they found out?
Not well, for the most part.
Karen Andrews in particular was scathing in her comments of the former PM, insisting he should step down.
“I am going to ask him to resign and leave Parliament,” she told news.com.au.
“I have nothing to say to him.
“This is totally unacceptable, for a Prime Minister to behave in this manner undermines everything that a federal government constitutionally should stand for.”
What did Morrison have to say about it all?
Well, after news of Morrison’s secret infiltration into the health, finance and resources ministries came to light, he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that he didn’t “recall” being sworn into any more portfolios.
Not three hours later it was revealed that he was also sworn into the treasury and home affairs portfolios.
The Liberal party member defended his decision in a press conference, saying it was “necessary” in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that he will not be resigning.
“These were extraordinary times in which I had the great honour and privilege to serve as Prime Minister,” he said.
“No Prime Minister has faced the same combination of circumstances, be it the pandemic or indeed the drought, the global recession and the Australian recession caused by the pandemic and the many other natural disasters that befell the country over that period of time.
“I sought those powers but I was only going use them in an emergency,” he continued.
“There was a clear expectation established in the public’s mind, certainly in the media’s mind, and absolutely certainly in the mind of the Opposition, as I would walk into Question Time every day, that I, as prime minister, was responsible pretty much for every single thing that was going on, every drop of rain, every strain of the virus, everything that occurred over that period of time.”
Morrison insisted that the reason he didn’t disclose his new roles to the public was that he feared the appointments would be “misinterpreted and misunderstood” which “would have caused unnecessary angst”.
“I did what I thought was necessary in the national interests to ensure the government continued to perform well.”
The politician also apologised “for any offence” to his colleagues.
“I led an outstanding team who did an excellent job and provided me great service and loyalty as ministers.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and Morrison’s close friend, was also unaware of the arrangement.
(Image: Getty)Did anyone else know about this?
Yep, the man who swore Morrison into the portfolios definitely knew about it – i.e. Governor-General David Hurley.
He has since defended the role he played, saying he had “no reason” to believe that the PM had not told his colleagues about the decision.
“The Governor-General acted on the advice of the government of the day, consistent with the principle of responsible government (in which Ministers are responsible to the parliament, and through them to the Australian people, for the advice that they provide to the Governor-General),” a spokesperson for the Governor-General said.
“In relation to questions around secrecy: any questions around secrecy after the Governor-General had acted on the advice of the government of the day are a matter for the previous government.
“It is not the responsibility of the Governor-General to advise the broader Ministry or parliament (or public) of administrative changes of this nature. The Governor-General had no reason to believe that appointments would not be communicated.”
WATCH: Scott Morrison defends his appointment to multiple portfolios. Article continues after video
Is this…. illegal?
It turns out, no. Despite it being very unprecedented (we thought we’d finally escaped that word), there’s no law against swearing a PM into other portfolios.
However, it has prompted the government to seek legal advice going forward.
Did Morrison actually DO anything while holding extra ministerial power?
Despite saying that he wanted these extra roles as a safeguard during the struggles of the pandemic, it seems the former PM only exercised ministerial power once. And it had nothing to do with COVID-19.
In 2021, Morrison used his power as co-minister for resources to cancel a gas exploration project off the NSW coast, overruling minister Keith Pitt.
This decision came ahead of the election, with the PM reportedly worried he would lose votes from those who wanted climate change policy at the forefront of the political agenda.
Governor-General David Hurley (right) was the one who swore Morrison into the portfolios.
(Image: Getty)Why do people care about this?
So, why should we care about all of this?
Basically, Australia operates under a Westminster system – which is based on the British model of responsible government.
At the heart of this system is the concept of the separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This separation creates a system of checks and balances; it is considered one of the cornerstones of fair government to ensure no one person has a monopoly on power, and that decisions are made fairly on behalf of the country.
By Morrison secretly being appointed as a minister for five extra portfolios, he was granted a lot of extra power that Australians – and even his colleagues – weren’t aware of, effectively undermining the concept of democracy and placing doubt in the way our government operates.
Current PM Anthony Albanese said more colourful words to this affect in his response to portfolio-gate, accusing Morrison of running a “shadow government” that was “unbecoming, cynical and just weird… contrary to the Westminster system”.
He also slammed Morrison’s press conference following the revelations, calling him “evasive, defensive, passive-aggressive and self-serving”, while deeming the Governor-General “complicit”.
Current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed Morrison’s actions.
(Image: Getty)What happens now?
Now, Albanese is seeking advice as to the legality of Morrison secretly swearing himself into these portfolios.
