Governor-General David Hurley: ‘No reason’ to think Scott Morrison cabinet roles would stay secret
The Governor-General claims he had no indication Scott Morrison was going to hide his new cabinet roles from his colleagues and the country.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There was “no reason” to think Scott Morrison wouldn’t communicate his power grab of five ministries during the pandemic, Governor General David Hurley has declared.
Under pressure to explain why he signed off on the secret swearing in of the former prime minister to jointly control the departments of home affairs, treasury, health, finance and resources, a spokesman for Mr Hurley reiterated he had acted on the advice of the then-government.
“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,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“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.”
The spokesman said Mr Hurley was “content” for the review process put in place by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to be completed and would not comment further.
It comes as Mr Albanese slammed his predecessor for being “evasive” and “passive aggressive” and not being honest with the Australian public.
Mr Albanese said the former prime minister’s extraordinary move to be secretly sworn into five additional ministries was “not transparent” and was a “shadow government”.
“The first rule of power grab club is don’t talk about power grab club. And Scott Morrison broke that rule today. Scott Morrison was evasive, he was defensive, he was passive aggressive and he was self-serving. So at least he was true to himself today,” Mr Albanese said.
“What we saw was all of his characters on full display. Blaming everybody else, not accepting any responsibility, saying, for example, that somehow, when he said “I’m making this decision as Prime Minister” everyone should have known at that point in time, somehow that he had sworn himself in as the resources minister, in order to make that decision.”
He said it was unbelievable Mr Morrison couldn’t remember what portfolios he was appointed to.
“He couldn’t remember the fact he had been appointed to administer the treasury portfolio? And the home affairs portfolio? I mean, give me a break,” he said.
Mr Albanese said he had misled parliament, in relation to Mr Morrison’s takeover of the resources portfolio to intervene in an offshore gas project in NSW.
Mr Albanese said the Governor-General acted in accordance with the recommendations of the government of the day.
“I have no intention of undertaking any criticism of the Governor-General,” Mr Albanese said.
“The Governor-General acted in accordance with the recommendations of the government of the day. The government of the day has to accept responsibility for this. And the people who were involved in it directly, have to accept responsibility,” he said.
MORRISON REFUSES TO RESIGN
Former prime minister Scott Morrison said there was “a clear expectation” from the public he was across all aspects of the pandemic as he tried to explain why he secretly was sworn into five cabinet roles.
He said he obtained what he said were “emergency powers” in fear of “extreme situations” unfolding.
“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.
“Now, I’m not taking issue with that. But this was the expectation and I think the Australian public had an expectation the Prime Minister had the authority to even overrule states. Now, that was not the case. But where there were authorities or powers that could be established, there was a clear expectation that I, as prime minister, would have sought to put those in place to protect the country and lead us through what was a very difficult period. People held me, rightly, to account for that,” he said.
But he refused to detail his conversations with the Governor-General in a fiery exchange with reporters.
“I’m not going to be verballed … or bullied in this press conference by you trying to put words in my mouth. I am simply respecting a longstanding principle and convention that the Governor-General and the Prime Minister have many conversations. The Governor-General took the advice of the day from the government and acted accordingly,” he said.
He said would not be stepping down as the member for Cook and would continue on his role as a backbencher, given the people had already held him to account by ousting him as prime minister.
“We‘ve had an election and that’s been run and done and here I am before you today no longer as the prime minister. That is our great democracy, which I cherish,” Mr Morrison said.
He said there were “gaps” in the system that forced him to obtain the secret powers.
“So in that context, with an understanding of the expectation of public responsibility singularly directed at the prime minister, I believed it was necessary to have authority, to have what were effectively emergency powers, to exercise in extreme situations that would be unforeseen, that would enable me to act in the national interests.
“And that is what I did in a crisis. Because, frankly, I’d rather be having this conversation about what I did do to try and protect the Australian people – and if there are views that overstepped the mark, happy to have that conversation, because what was focusing my mind was not having the conversation that perhaps I could have put powers in place if situations had arisen that I hadn’t been in a position to address because I hadn’t done the things that have been set out in recent days.”
“These were emergency effectively reserve powers. I think there was a great risk that in the midst of that crisis those powers could be misinterpreted and misunderstood, which would have caused unnecessary angst in the middle of a pandemic and could have impacted on the day-to-day functioning of the government.”
He said no prime minister faced the difficulty he did in office.
“It was a very difficult time. It was a very unusual time. It was a very extraordinary time that tested every … fabric of government, not just at a federal level but at a state level as well and indeed tested the very fabric and sinew of Australian society.”
Mr Morrison said he had to take decisions he never expected to have to make.
“Over that period, we took decisions – I did as a prime minister, we did as a Cabinet – at federal and state level that some of us would never have dreamed that we would ever have to make. And I remember making that comment on numerous occasions. The situation was very real. It was very serious. Events changed hourly, if not even more frequently than that.”
He said the ministers continued to exercise their powers.
“They continued to exercise their powers as ministers, fully and wholly, except in the one instance in relation to the decision that I referred to in my statement. Did not exercise those powers. And I had the power, though, to act if that was necessary.”
He said everything was within the law.
“The powers that I was exercising and been sworn in administratively to those roles were lawful based on the advice and working through those issues, as was done by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the officer of the Governor-General, my own office.”
He apologised for not speaking to his colleagues about the power grab.
“Well, as I said, I apologise for any concern this has caused about those issues and I understand that concern and that’s why I’m standing here today. But at the same time I did not want any of my ministers to be going about their daily business any different to what they were doing before. I was concerned that these issues could have been misconstrued and misunderstood and undermine the confidence of ministers in the performance of their duties at that time, and I did not consider that to be in the country’s interest.”
He denied he didn’t have the courage to tell them.
Mr Morrison’s presser occurred just after midday, less than 24 hours after he wrote a lengthy Facebook post explaining his reasoning for assuming joint control of the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and resources portfolios between 2020 and 2021.
He concluded the presser by asking the media to leave his family alone.
“I’d ask you to respect the privacy of my kids and my wife. We’re moving on with our life. I’m serving as the member for Cook,” he said.
MORRISON UNDER PRESSURE TO QUIT
Scott Morrison emerged from his family home on Wednesday morning as questions swirl about his future in federal parliament.
The former prime minister is facing calls to resign as the member for Cook following shock revelations he secretly took control of five portfolios over the past two years.
But when spotted by the NCA NewsWire on Wednesday morning, Mr Morrison was seemingly unfazed about the drama circling around him.
Carrying a packed-looking briefcase and his keys, Mr Morrison didn’t stop to chat with the waiting press.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said others in the Liberal party “must have known” but stopped short of saying he should resign.
“The Morrison Government is just as guilty as Scott Morrison himself. They have emboldened, they have empowered, they have encouraged this kind of behaviour. The idea that they didn’t know that Scott Morrison had these dictatorial tendencies is absolutely ridiculous and absolutely laughable,” he said on Wednesday.
“Whether it’s Josh Frydenberg or Peter Dutton or any of cheese characters, they must have known that Scott Morrison was wandering down this dictatorial path.”
Mr Morrison is said to have called former treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday to apologise for not informing him they shared the role despite the pair living together at the lodge during the ACT lockdown last year.
The revelations have led to former home affairs minister Karen Andrews – who was also blindsided by the news – calling for the former prime minister to resign from parliament.
But Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud are standing by their colleague.
FORMER LEADERS BACK MORRISON
Former prime minister John Howard defended Scott Morrison over his secret portfolio appointments with a message for the current PM.
Mr Howard suggested Australians and Anthony Albanese “forget about the past and focus on the present.”
“I suggest, with respect of course to the current prime minister, that he get back to governing the country and not pursuing Scott Morrison over this,“ he said on 2GB on Wednesday morning.
When asked whether he had seen anything like this before the former PM said “no, but it doesn‘t make it sinister.”
The 25th PM said the explanation given by Mr Morrison “does make sense” and that “the average person will react and say well it’s unusual but we are living in unusual circumstances.”
“I just think we get onto the next thing … how the government is running the country in China and Taiwan, things that matter at the moment,“ he said.
Mr Howard later told ABC Radio: “Yes it is unusual, I understand why it is being criticised but it not some sort of constitutional crisis”.
Mr Howard’s comments come as Mr Morrison’s deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has stood by the former prime minister, saying the embattled Liberal does not need to resign.
Mr Joyce says Mr Morrison’s actions were legal – despite that advice still pending.
The then finance minister and home affairs minister were not made aware that Mr Morrison had assumed the powers in March 2020 and May 2021 respectively.
Then treasurer Josh Frydenberg was also not made aware of the move Mr Morrison made in May 2021, despite being the deputy Liberal leader.
Then resources minister Keith Pitt and health minister Greg Hunt were made aware in April 2021 and March 2020 respectively.
Mr Morrison has justified his move regarding health, finance, treasury and home affairs as being contingency measures given the “unprecedented” Covid-19 pandemic.
The move to assume power in the resources portfolio was to make a decision about a controversial offshore gas project.
Mr Joyce, who served as deputy prime minister between May 2021 and May 2022, threw his support behind Mr Morrison on Wednesday morning.
“I don’t agree with the prime minister taking on roles here, there and everywhere – I do believe in a cabinet system of government,” Mr Joyce said.
“But Mr Morrison has not broken any law. He has not done anything illegal.”
Mr Joyce said he knew “of sorts” that Mr Morrison had assumed the position in the resources portfolio.
Mr Joyce is now at odds with Ms Andrews, who has demanded Mr Morrison resign.
‘TIME FOR HIM TO GO’: SENATOR LAMBIE
Senator Jacqui Lambie has also called for former PM Scott Morrison to resign.
“It’s time for him to go. It’s time for Scott Morrison to resign. Enough damage has been done under him,” she told ABC Radio.
“You [Morrison] blatantly lied, no one forgets they’ve got five portfolios.”
Senator Lambie also lashed out at men in the Liberal party for not supporting former home affairs minister Karen Andrews’ calls for Mr Morrison’s resignation.
“It’s disgraceful what he’s done. Honestly, what I find even more disgusting … is Karen Andrews … stuck her neck out and called for what happened, to get him to reign, and once again Liberal men are standing there on the other side not supporting her. I find it disgusting.”
OLD TWEET HAUNTS SCOMO
A 12-year-old tweet from former prime minister Scott Morrison has come back to haunt the embattled Cook MP as the fallout from his secret ministerial appointments continues.
In August 2010 in the lead-up to the federal election, he wrote: “if Labor wins, we won’t know who is running the country, let alone who is Finance, Defence, or Foreign Affairs Minister.”
if Labor wins we won't know who is running the country, let alone who is Finance, Defence or Foreign Affairs Minister #lateline
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) August 19, 2010
It’s in juxtaposition to the revelations his finance minister in 2020, Mathias Cormann, was not made aware that Mr Morrison had appointed himself to the portfolio.
Mr Morrison had a similar rhetoric in the lead-up to this year’s federal election, where he routinely criticised the Labor Party for not making clear who their defence minister would be.
TOP SPIES IN THE DARK
Australia’s top spies were in the dark over Scott Morrison’s secret appointments, it has been revealed.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Wednesday said the home affairs department and the chief of ASIO did not know Mr Morrison was the minister for home affairs at the time.
She said that makes the matter serious enough for Mr Morrison to resign.
“If you don’t understand how vulnerable that made us, you should not be in parliament,” she said on ABC radio.
Asked if she is investigating if any decisions were made with the ministerial power, Ms O’Neil said the current government is restricted “because it’s the convention that the former government’s decisions aren’t meant to be examined by the new government”.
“This is very complicated, very difficult and it is far from apparent that no one has broken the law here,” she said.
“Whatever happens with Scott Morrison, we need to understand how this occurred, so it can’t happened again.”
Earlier on Sunrise, Ms O’Neil said the question over whether Mr Morrison should resign is “really a test for Peter Dutton”.
“This is not some corruption scandal that I think Australians got used to seeing in the last nine years that the Liberals were in power, this is something incredibly serious,” she said.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton on Tuesday said he won’t call on Mr Morrison to quit, and said he too was kept in the dark.
“There’s bigger issues that families of Australia are dealing with at the moment,” said the Liberal leader.
Read related topics:Scott Morrison
Join the conversation
NRL star charged with threatening police
Canberra Raiders veteran player Josh Papalii has been charged over an ugly confrontation with police inside a licensed venue, just weeks before he won a prestigious award.
Read more
Man creeps into 7yo’s bedroom, rapes her
A man has been found guilty after he broke into a Perth home and sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl who was asleep in her bedroom.
Read more