Scott Morrison dethrones Kevin ‘747’ Rudd as the PM with most overseas trips in first year
Scott Morrison has been on more overseas trips in his first year than any of his five predecessors, including Kevin “747” Rudd, but is the only one not to visit China.
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Scott Morrison is adopting a policy of “have passport, will travel”, heading off on more overseas trips in his first year as Prime Minister than any of his five predecessors.
The Weekend Australian reports that Mr Morrison has eclipsed the travel done by former PM Kevin Rudd, who earned the nickname Kevin “747” Rudd because of all his overseas trips.
The paper reports that Mr Morrison made 13 trips in total in his first year visiting 14 countries, while Mr Rudd took 12 trips to 20 countries.
Mr Morrison however was the only one of his predecessors, including John Howard, Mr Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull not to visit China in his first 400 days in office.
Mr Rudd has slammed Mr Morrison for not visiting China.
“Mr Rudd prioritised building a strong working relationship with China, given its emerging significance to our economy. By contrast, Morrison has never visited China as prime minister and the political relationship has been in the freezer for nearly two years,” a spokesman for Mr Rudd told The Weekend Australian.
Mr Howard went on four trips, visiting five countries, during his first 12 months; Ms Gillard went on eight trips and travelled to 14 countries; Mr Abbott took 10 trips and visited 14 countries; and Mr Turnbull travelled to 15 countries across seven trips.
To read more visit The Weekend Australian
Originally published as Scott Morrison dethrones Kevin ‘747’ Rudd as the PM with most overseas trips in first year