‘History is what it is’: Scott Morrison defends Black Summer Hawaii trip, looks forward to working in US

Former prime minister Scott Morrison says his decision to go to Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires was made “pretty personal” as he reflected on his years of leadership after announcing his retirement.

Ending nearly two years of speculation about his future since the Coalition’s crushing 2022 election defeat, the member for Cook, who led Australia through the COVID-19 pandemic, announced on Tuesday afternoon he would vacate the backbench for private work relating to global security.

Scott Morrison on holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires poses for a photo with a group of Australian tourists.

Speaking on Sydney’s 2GB on Wednesday morning, Morrison confirmed he will be travelling to the US in March to begin his new advisory roles and positions on private boards.

“We’re travelling over to the US, that doesn’t start until March and, in the meantime, it’ll give me a good opportunity to keep getting around [the] local community here and just say thank you,” he said.

Asked if he regretted his decision to go to Hawaii during the 2019-2020 bushfires, Morrison said some people “made it pretty personal”.

“We were supposed to go down the South Coast in January, but I had to change those arrangements because we’d been invited for a state visit to India with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi, so we tried to get something in before Christmas. Now, you know, history is what it is,” he said.

“Some people, you know, made it pretty personal.”

Morrison’s board positions will be focused on the US and the Indo-Pacific, drawing on his political experience and networks through two major security networks, AUKUS and the Quad security dialogue.

This masthead has previously reported his interest in working in the Defence sector.

Morrison said he was glad to be teaming up again with US politicians including Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and Robert O’Brien in his new roles from the US, and spoke positively about the possibility of former US president Donald Trump winning the 2024 US election.

“I had a good relationship with president Trump; doesn’t mean we agreed on everything he said or did but it’s always the job of the Australian prime minister to have the best possible relationship you can have with the US president,” he said.

“Mike Pompeo became quite a good friend during that time as did Mike Pence and I got to know Robert O’Brien really well and, you know, so that’s what happens when you work closely with people in politics and so I’m glad I’m teaming up with them later this year.”

Morrison’s time as prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic came under fire in August 2022, when it was revealed he took joint control over key ministerial portfolios including health, treasury, finance, home affairs and industry.

Morrison defended his actions, saying the pandemic was an unusual time.

“I took the decision to take some precautions which, thankfully, I never had to use and that’s all it was,” he said.

“I was just focused on trying to get the country through to save lives and save livelihoods together with [former treasurer] Josh Frydenberg and [former health minister] Greg Hunt who did a wonderful job.”

Morrison said when he was prime minister he had to make calls and do it in Australia’s best interests.

“You live with those decisions and you get on with it,” he said.

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