‘Peak gaslight’: Grace Tame explodes at Scott Morrison

Grace Tame has ripped into Scott Morrison for “playing the victim” after the former PM’s emotional press conference.

Grace Tame has accused Scott Morrison of “playing the victim” after the former prime minister’s emotional press conference defending himself over the secret ministries scandal.

Mr Morrison was grilled by furious journalists on Wednesday about his secret power grab over five ministerial portfolios during Covid.

Conceding he may have “overstepped the mark”, the former PM insisted he needed “emergency powers” during the pandemic and denied taking over the portfolios.

“I was only ever going to use them in an emergency situation,” he said.

“I understand the offence that some of my colleagues particularly have felt about this. I understand that and I’ve apologised to them, but equally as prime minister only I could really understand the weight of responsibility that was on my shoulders and on no one else. And as a result, I took the decision that I thought I needed to take.”

Grace Tame at the Adelaide Festival. Picture: Brenton Edwards/NCA NewsWire

‘Peak gaslight’

In a furious Twitter thread, the former Australian of the Year slammed the comments as “peak gaslight”.

“Scott playing the victim of a nation holding him — a prime minister — accountable, as justification for abusing his power, is peak gaslight. Not only is he in denial, he is attacking us, and claiming we are to blame,” she wrote.

“Scott claimed he’d ‘no personal advantage’. Yet, he oversaw the ASIO, AFP, ABF and Surveillance Devices Acts while in the Home Affairs portfolio. That’s nothing to sniff at. Not to mention his allyship with the GG, and accessibility to details of certain criminal allegations.”

Mr Morrison has stated he only used the powers once in the resources portfolio, not the home affairs portfolio.

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed neither it nor the departmental secretary Mike Pezzullo knew about the prime minister’s secret power grab.

As such, he did not receive any special briefings or access to ASIO intelligence or information about criminal matters that he did not already have access to via the national security committee as prime minister.

Mr Morrison has described the arrangements as reserve “emergency powers.”

“I was not co-administering ... the suggestions of co-administration of departments os 100 per cent false. I was administratively sworn in, which gave me authority, like many other ministers had, to exercise decisions in an emergency situation,” Mr Morrison said.

There is no evidence to support the claim he had special access to ASIO or AFP intelligence as a result of the portfolio grab or that it was sought.

“Scott repeatedly used ‘we’ when explaining himself. Yet, none of his cabinet were even aware he had sworn himself into these extra portfolios, which they were already occupying. How can a team possibly be a ‘we’ when it doesn’t even know all the rules or indeed, the players?” Ms Tame continued.

“In closing, Scott threw out his ‘I am a quiet Australian’ catchcry, as if he hadn’t thrown this revelation of his own deception to the media by himself out of the blue, stealing headlines, during an economic downturn, which was certainly not helped by his own inaction. Classic.”

Ms Tame, an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, famously refused to smile with Mr Morrison in a photo at The Lodge in January.

The event was a morning tea for 2022 Australian of the Year finalists and the photo of Ms Tame’s side-eye made headlines across the country.

Ms Tame has been open and vocal about her dislike of Mr Morrison.

After Mr Morrison’s election loss in May, Ms Tame posted a smiling photo on Instagram with incoming PM Anthony Albanese.

“A grateful nation is crying with you. And who said I didn’t smile at the Prime Minister?” she captioned the photo.

Former PM Scott Morrison. Picture: Steven Saphore/AFP

Morrison refuses to quit

Former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has called for Mr Morrison to resign and leave Parliament in the wake of the revelations.

Ms Andrews said she had “no idea” the former PM had sworn himself into her portfolio.

“This is totally unacceptable,“ she said. ”For a Prime Minister to behave in this manner undermines everything that a federal government constitutionally should stand for.”

Mr Morrison said he would not resign, but he left the door open to not contesting the next election.

He said he had sought advice from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet but would not say what the legal advice said or what it was.

“The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet advise on these matters and I understand these matters to be entirely lawful,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Liberal leader Peter Dutton has moved to distance himself from the former PM, conceding he didn’t agree with the secret ministry decision.

“Scott’s apologised, rightly,“ Mr Dutton told Tasmanian radio.

“I think he’s detailed that yesterday. I think it’s appropriate that he has apologised, because what he did clearly was the wrong thing. It’s not something that I would do if I’m elected to be prime minister at the next election, and we’ll work with the government to make sure the checks and balances are put in place to make sure that it can’t happen again.”