‘Betrayal’: Greens’ leader to seek further action against Scott Morrison

Greens leader Adam Bandt will move to refer Scott Morrison to parliament’s powerful privileges committee on Thursday, a day after the House of Representatives censured the former prime minister.

The move opens the door to a further sanction being levelled against Morrison, such as being refused entry to the House or being forced to apologise.

Bandt told this masthead he was moving a motion to make the referral because an inquiry by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell had laid out the full extent of Morrison’s “betrayal of the Australian people”.

It was revealed in August that Morrison was secretly sworn in to administer the departments of treasury, home affairs, health, finance, and industry, science, energy and resources in the last term of parliament, a move that shocked his colleague and which has been roundly condemned.

“After his speech to the chamber [on Wednesday], we know that Scott Morrison felt that the partial information he told parliament was enough and that it was everybody else’s fault for not asking the right questions,” Bandt said.

“With a full report from a former judge and a self-serving explanation from Scott Morrison that was full of moral and logical inconsistencies, there are serious questions to answer and I will raise the matter in the proper way.”

Bandt will raise the issue under standing order 51, which allows precedence to be given for debate in the House where there is a claim that a contempt of parliament has been committed.

For the referral to privileges to proceed, Speaker Milton Dick will have to consider and then agree to Bandt’s request for the motion to be presented.

The fact that Morrison did not act illegally, or against standing and sessional orders, means it is unlikely – but not impossible – that a majority of MPs in the House will back the motion, which is necessary for the referral to occur.

In a defiant speech to the House on Wednesday, Morrison conceded he went too far when he acquired the treasury and home affairs portfolios, but accused the Albanese government of “intimidation” and “retribution” in bringing a censure motion against him.

The former prime minister defended his actions as being lawful, but backed implementing the recommendations of the Bell inquiry to increase transparency about ministerial appointments.

He offered a qualified apology in his speech as he acknowledged the non-disclosure of his appointment had “caused unintentional offence and I extend an apology to those who were offended”.

“But Mr Speaker, I do not apologise for taking action, especially prudent redundancy action, in a national crisis in order to save lives and to save livelihoods,” he said.

Scott Morrison arrives in the chamber at Parliament House on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Morrison is the first former prime minister to be censured by the House of Representatives, and the motion passed with the support of 86 MPs and the opposition of 50.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expected contrition from Morrison, but “we got hubris and we got arrogance and we got denial”.

The chair of the privileges committee, Labor MP Rob Mitchell, declined to comment about the Greens’ plan to attempt to refer the former prime minister.

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