Liberal Senator blasts Scott Morrison as a ‘bully’ who is ‘unfit’ to lead the nation

A veteran Liberal senator has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Scott Morrison as “a bully” who is “unfit” to lead the nation.

Veteran Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Scott Morrison as an “autocrat and a bully” who is “unfit” to lead the nation.

Accusing the Prime Minister of having “backstabbed” his enemies and attacking his record all the way back to his controversial entry into parliament into the seat of Cook, she said she regretted the day she ever supported him entering politics.

She attacked his “consigliore” Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.

“In my public life I have met ruthless people. Morrison tops the list, followed closely by Hawke,’’ she said.

“Morrison is not fit to be Prime Minister and Hawke certainly is not fit to be a Minister.”

Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Furious after being dumped by the Liberal Party in a preselection round over the weekend, Senator Fierravanti-Wells also unloaded on the NSW Liberal Party suggesting the “stench of corruption” now emanated from the organisation.

“Given the events and outcomes of the dodgy preselection, where I lost my handful of votes last Saturday, my time in this place will finish on 30 June 2022,’’ she said.

“Accordingly, there are a few matters I wish to place on the record before my departure. Many in this place are aware of the history I’ve had with Scott Morrison.

“Let me give some clarity and context to that history, so there can be no misunderstanding.

“In order to understand the man, it is best to look at his past actions.

“While professing to be a man of faith and claiming the Centre Right status, Morrison is a product of the Left having worked for Bruce Baird.

“He is adept at running with the foxes and hunting with the hounds, lacking the moral compass and having no conscience.”

The end of Concetta Fierravanti-Wells' diatribe against Morrison. Peter Whish-Wilson's reaction at the end is all of us, tbh pic.twitter.com/uFPIdJ60Rw

— Andrew Brown (@AndrewBrownAU) March 29, 2022

The NSW Senator accused the Prime Minister of being a phony who used his faith for political reasons.

“His actions conflict with his portrayal as a man of faith,’’ she said.

“He has used his so-called faith as a marketing advantage. We learned that the leader of his Hillsong church group, Brian Houston, was a mentor to Morrison.

“Houston recently stood down as head of Hillsong because he was charged with sexual offences.”

Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison. Picture: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

She said the Prime Minister had been sacked from his job at Tourism Australia.

“He backstabbed his Minister Fran Bailey, eventually he was fired from the position,’’ she said.

“As state director of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party, Morrison honed his manipulative skills when overseeing the Wentworth preselection to unseat Peter King.

“About 120 membership applications were rejected to help (Malcolm) Turnbull get selected, the person Morrison ultimately backstabbed.”

She then moved to the preselection battle for Cook, which Mr Morrison lost before the result was overturned.

“Morrison might profess to be Christian, but there was nothing Christian about what was done to Michael Towke,’’ she said.

“When Morrison made his run for the seat of Cook there were several hopefuls including Towke, Fletcher and Coleman.

“Having lost the ballot, Morrison and his cronies went to (Labor powerbroker) Sam Dastyari to get dirt on Towke, who had been in the Labor Party for a period of time whilst at university.

“This dossier of anecdotes was weaponised and leaked to the media to the point where Towke’s reputation was destroyed.”

Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells just launched an incredible attack on PM Scott Morrison and Alex Hawke in the Senate - says Morrison is “not fit to be Prime Minister” and claims he and Hawke “destroyed the Liberal Party in NSW” pic.twitter.com/P1JGVSC1Kv

— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) March 29, 2022

She then claimed the Prime Minister had expressed concern about a Lebanese person in Cook.

“I’m advised that there were several statutory declarations to attest to racial comments made by Morrison, at the time, that we can’t have a Lebanese person in Cook,’’ she said.

News.com.au has contacted the Prime Minister’s office for comment.

“I regret the day that (David) Clarke and I agreed to put Morrison in Cook. since then never faced preselection,’’ she said.

She accused NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet of being a “weak, supine” state leader.

At the conclusion of her speech, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson rose to tell the Senate he was happy to give the NSW Senator a five minute extension to continue her blast of the Liberal Party.

“Holy smokes,’’ he said.

Alex Hawke in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Earlier this week, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells unleashed on her own party claiming the “mean girls” culture within the ALP also extended to the Liberal Party under Scott Morrison.

Speaking during an emotional tribute to Senator Kimberley Kitching, she detailed the personal toll of her own preselection battle.

“Much has been written about the treatment that Kimberley received from what the media has described as the ‘mean girls’,’’ Senator Fierravanti-Wells said.

“The concept of mean girls is not confined to one political party. Often we discussed the slings and arrows with preselections, particularly as we were both outspoken and not constrained by prevalent groupthink within our political parties.”

Senator Kitching privately described Labor Senate leader Penny Wong, Senator Kristina Kenneally and Senator Katy Gallagher as “mean girls” before her death.

The women have rejected any allegation of bullying as untrue and the epithet as “demeaning”.