Scott Morrison admits he made mistakes during time as PM

Scott Morrison has revealed what he could have done differently over the past three years as Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has admitted he could have been more “sensitive” during the pandemic to bring Australians closer together.

Days out from the federal election on Tuesday night, Mr Morrison spoke to A Current Affair.

Host Tracy Grimshaw grilled the Prime Minister – who refers to himself as a “bulldozer” –about what he could have done differently over the past three years.

“Sure, I have my critics; not everything that we did worked perfectly,” Mr Morrison said.

“I think I could have certainly been more sensitive at times, there is no doubt about that.”

The Prime Minister added in terms of policy, the country would have benefited from a “militarised” vaccine rollout earlier on.

“We were doing it through the health department first; if we’d done it earlier, I think that would have made a difference,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison also said he would have chosen different language rather than claiming he didn’t “hold a hose” during the Black Summer bushfires.

“Certainly that wasn’t a comment at the time that was helpful,” Mr Morrison said.

With the worst of the pandemic appearing to be over, Mr Morrison said there would be more time for discussions and taking Australians forward into the future.

While admitting to some small mistakes, the Prime Minister largely backed himself, including on the botched French submarine deal which cost taxpayers $5.5 billion. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Prime Minister rejected suggestions he should have acted differently during the women’s march in Canberra, when he refused to meet with protesters outside Parliament House.

He said he would have been happy to meet with organisers privately in his office – an offer the group rejected.

“I did the right thing on that day. I would have welcomed the opportunity for the top of a discussion in my office,” Mr Morrison said.

He also listed the efforts of the Coalition on improving gender equity in Australia, including seeing the pay gap shrink from 17.4 to 13.8 per cent, investing $2 billion to end violence against women and women’s health initiatives.

“I accept that at times people may not have liked my language, but the actual policies that we put in place have been getting very strong results,” he said.

Mr Morrison also defended the outcome of a botched deal to buy submarines from France, which cost the taxpayer an estimated $5.5 billion with nothing to show for it.

Mr Morrison has said in the past Australia’s vaccination rollout could have been faster if the process was given to the ADF to run earlier than May 2021. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

He said he had no regrets and at the time made a decision that was in the national interest to tear up the contract, potentially souring Australia’s relationship with the French.

“This was one of the most difficult agreements that Australia has ever been able to secure and there is no easy way to tell a partner in the French government that they are no longer going to have a $90 billion submarine contract,” he said.

Mr Morrison again defended his government’s election promise of allowing Australians to use their superannuation to buy a first home.

“A lot of the critics of this policy already own a house; I am on the side of those who want to buy one,” he said.

Originally published as Scott Morrison admits he made mistakes during time as PM