Don’t let Morrison secret jobs inquiry become a witch hunt

Anthony Albanese needs to avoid the temptation to turn any inquiry into Scott Morrison’s secret ministries into a show trial, writes Matthew Killoran.

It’s almost become like a hazing ritual for Australian Oppositions – lose government, endure an inquiry into a controversy from the previous term.

For Labor, it was the Pink batts. For the Coalition it is shaping up to be the former prime minister’s secret ministries.

Where there is scandal and errors which can be learned from there needs to investigation to prevent it happening again.

Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Steven Saphore / AFP

Insulation installers died because the 2009 stimulus package had not been properly designed, the Pink batts Royal Commission found.

While seen by some as a politicised exercise, it was also important to address the fact that four people died to seek to prevent history repeating itself.

In this case, while no one has died, solicitor-general Stephen Donaghue QC found that while no laws were broken the secret appointments “fundamentally undermined” responsible government.

Any inquiry should be in good faith with the aim of preventing it happening again, not a political witch hunt.

More information is needed on whether it was used or misused, as well as how to prevent it happening again.

Mr Morrison may not have misused it, but that doesn’t mean another leader down the line won’t.

Coalition MPs are frustrated. They are frustrated with Mr Morrison and increasingly they are getting frustrated with the media’s continued coverage of the issue.

Aside from the adage that politicians complaining about the media being akin to sailors complaining about the sea, there remain serious questions that need to be answered.

Mr Morrison has said that did not use his secret powers, except for the time that he did, and repeated that in a lengthy social media post again yesterday.

But his memory on this subject has been sketchy at best and when pressed at a media conference he only said that he believed he had not used them.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needs to avoid temptation to make any inquiry a show trial, or the public will write-off this important issue as just more political point scoring.