Prime Minister explains why Scott Morrison is ‘not in the inner circle’

LISA Wilkinson was ruthless with Malcolm Turnbull this morning, and it led the PM to make this startling admission.

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has conceded that Treasurer Scott Morrison was not in the “very small circle” that was made aware of plans to bring the Budget forward on Monday morning.

Mr Morrison was forced to contradict himself on Monday when he told journalists early in the day that the Budget would be on May 10 as usual, and then backflip a few hours later after the PM announced it would be handed down a week early. This led to suggestions that Mr Morrison was out of the loop.

Mr Turnbull made the startling admission this morning under intense questioning from Today show host Lisa Wilkinson about his relationship with his Treasurer.

After answering questions about the terror attacks in Brussels, Wilkinson drilled Mr Turnbull on his decision to bring the Budget forward to May 3 and threaten a double dissolution election on July 2.

Specifically, she asked the PM who he phoned on the night before the announcement and, more importantly, who he did not. Mr Morrison was part of the latter group.

“All right Prime Minister, you talk about united government — I think Australia would love to see that. But earlier this week we saw that the Treasurer didn’t even know (you) were going to bring down the Budget (early).

“Why didn’t you bring him in on the change? It is very embarrassing for him.”

The PM attempted to explain before he was interrupted.

“Well, if you would just let me finish, Lisa, the Treasurer was well aware, as were the members of our leadership group, that we were considering and were likely, very likely in fact, to ask the Governor-General to call the Parliament back on 18 April and if we did that obviously the Budget would have to come back a week early,” Mr Turnbull said.

“The timing of when I went out to Government House was — that was a decision — that timing decision was taken on Sunday and I went out there in the morning. What the Treasurer said on the radio in the morning was accurate. The Budget was set for 10 May until such time as I changed the schedule.”

The Prime Minister and his Treasurer. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

Wilkinson tried again. That’s when Mr Turnbull elaborated on his “inner circle”.

“But you couldn’t make a phone call to him when you made that decision on Sunday night?” she asked.

“Well, I did not call Scott Morrison on Sunday night. No, I did not. It was a very small circle. I spent the evening, well, the bulk of my time with my ministerial colleagues. It was obviously spent with the Attorney-General, who provided the advice.”

“Scott Morrison is not in that small inner circle?” Wilkinson asked.

“Look, Scott Morrison was fully aware of the likelihood of the Budget coming back to 3 May. He was fully aware that we were, once the Senate reform Bills were passed, that we would … seek to go bring the Parliament back and summoning it back at an earlier date to ensure that it had the time to consider the industrial Bills I have talked about a moment ago,” Mr Turnbull replied.

The PM stressed that Mr Morrison was “in the loop”.

It’s the second time in less than a week the prime minister’s language has landed him in hot water. On Monday, the phrase “continuity and change” was brought up again and again on social media.

Mr Turnbull was attempting to explain how he was both running on the Abbott Government’s record and his own government’s new policies.

“The bottom line is there is continuity and there is change,” the PM said again and again.

The problem is that “continuity” and “change” are buzzwords many listeners had heard before. They were used as a campaign slogan for fictional US president Selina Meyer in the comedy series Veep.

On Twitter, users were quick to make the comparison.

There is continuity and change. And continuity and change. And... (@abcnews) #auspol https://t.co/mivj2SlyGR

— Stephanie Anderson (@stephanieando) March 22, 2016

'Continuity and change' is a contradiction in terms. Like most of what Malcolm & the LNP are saying lately #auspol

— Brent Langenberg (@deejaybrent) March 22, 2016

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Meyer in the satirical comedy, addressed the similarities on Twitter. “I am dumbstruck,” she said, linking to a Buzzfeed story on the subject.

I am dumbstruck. @VeepHBO https://t.co/emEjFmWDgE

— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) March 22, 2016

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Mr Turnbull appeared on Sunrise on Channel 7 where he addressed Australia’s security situation in the wake of the Brussels bombings.

He said he was confident Australia was safer than Europe but would take lessons from what was happening in the European Union.

“The Australian people condemn the cowardly attack in Brussels,” he said. “Our most resolute solidarity is with the people of Belgium.”

He said he discussed Australia’s security, including at major airports, with the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Attorney-General George Brandis and the Police Commissioner on Wednesday morning. ASIO’s advise was that Australia’s terrorism threat level remain the same, at “probable”.

“Our [security] is good; Australians should be assured of that but we can always look to improve,” he told Sunrise.

“Europe has a security problem that is different to Australia. We have strong border protection that our government has maintained. We also have very key focus on intelligence. We seek to disrupt terror attacks.

“We are in a much stronger position in terms of domestic security than the European countries are … It’s a dangerous world … This is a lesson to all of us to absolutely keep [our guards] up at all times.”