Scott Morrison reportedly takes Hawaii holiday amid bushfire crisis
The famous slogan Tourism Australia rolled out when Scott Morrison was its boss was trending on Twitter on Tuesday as the nation asked where the bloody hell was its Prime Minister? Should we know where he is holidaying? TAKE OUR POLL
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Can you imagine Donald Trump or Boris Johnson heading overseas for four days without word of where they had gone? Yet Scott Morrison’s office remains silent on his whereabouts abroad.
This set Twitter off with the famous slogan Tourism Australia rolled out when Mr Morrison was its boss suddenly trending on Tuesday as the nation asked where the bloody hell was its Prime Minister.
The PM’s office refused to reveal the country Mr Morrison has gone to for a quick family getaway prior to Christmas, citing security concerns and protocol as the reasons.
A spokesman said private travel plans were never telegraphed even when the PM was in Australia.
The protocol of keeping secret even the most basic facts about prime ministerial Christmas holidays seems either new or loosely applied.
In 2013, then PM Tony Abbott told the media he would be going to Paris with wife Margie and two of their daughters, Frances and Bridget, to be joined by eldest daughter Louise who was working in Switzerland.
The secrecy has left angry members of the Twitterati demanding to know the answer to the puzzle of Where’s Scotty?
There has been speculation the Morrisons are in Hawaii.
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According to social media verification service Storyful, the rumour began with a tweet by a Bangkok-based hotel PR executive who on Monday wrote “spotted today, Australia’s Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP, departing Sydney for a holiday to Hawaii”.
It had been retweeted 783 times as of 3pm yesterday. Attempts to contact the PR executive, who is an Australian, were unsuccessful.
The PM’s spokesman would not say if the Morrisons were in Hawaii. He did say they paid for their own flights, accommodation and other holiday expenses.
He also said the family had not used the government’s VIP jet.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Mr Morrison’s holiday had been brought forward because his January calendar had become stacked.
“He has a planned break with his family — his family who have no choice in the matter of when they are able to spend time with their husband and their father,” Ms Payne said. “His planned break is now, given he is making a state visit to India in January, a leaders’ visit to Japan in January and is unable to take any time with his family then.
“I think that he and his family are entitled to a short break prior to his travel in January in an official capacity,” she said.
It is understood to be the first holiday the PM has had since going to Fiji with his family after winning the election in May.
Labor frontbencher Jim Chalmers said Mr Morrison was “entitled to a holiday”.
“Everyone deserves an opportunity to rest and recharge,” he said.
But he added that there should have been an official announcement about the PM being on leave.
“If he’s on holidays, that’s fine,” Mr Chalmers said. “He should alert the Australian community if so.”
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