Former High Court judge leads probe into Morrison’s ministries grab

Former High Court judge Virginia Bell will head an independent investigation into Scott Morrison’s secret self-appointment to numerous ministries.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Steven Saphore/AFP

Former High Court judge Virginia Bell will head an independent investigation into Scott Morrison’s secret self-appointment to numerous ministries – moves that were found by the nation’s Solicitor-General this week to have ­undermined Australia’s system of “responsible government”.

Anthony Albanese announced the inquiry – which will have a tight three-month turnaround to report back to parliament – to “ensure this can never happen again”, with Ms Bell to decide whether there would be public hearings.

The inquiry will recommend any procedural or legislative changes to provide greater transparency around ministerial arrangements and whether there were any implications arising from Mr Morrison’s appointments to multiple ministries for statutory bodies, government enterprises and state departments.

It will also address the rules around the disclosure of ministerial appointments.

The Prime Minister suggested Mr Morrison should participate in the inquiry, warning it would be “extraordinary” if he declined.

“The appointment of a former High Court judge is certainly one that I think can bring confidence from the Australian public that people will participate in the inquiry,” Mr Albanese said.

“I would find it extraordinary if anyone refused to talk to a former High Court judge who is, I think, beyond reproach.”

Former High Court judge Virginia Bell.

Ms Bell, who served as a High Court justice for 12 years after being appointed in December 2008 by the then Labor attorney-general Robert McClelland, will conduct the inquiry independently of government. No clarity was provided over whether her interviews with those involved in the scandal, including Mr Morrison, would be conducted in public.

“We need to have a quick and appropriate inquiry which is not about the politics but about how this happened, why it happened, who knew about it,” Mr Albanese said. “We need to have transparency in the process because our system of parliamentary democracy relies upon conventions, relies upon the Westminster system of checks and balances.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said that Ms Bell would “be able to get to the bottom of what occurred” and make “concrete” recommendations to the federal govern­ment.

“It’s really important that this be seen as an independent inquiry conducted by her, appropriate to her status,” he said.

The terms of reference for the inquiry, agreed to by the cabinet, include an examination of the facts surrounding Mr Morrison’s self-appointments and the implications of those appointments, including their effect on public confidence in government, the structure of the ministry, and the accountability of the executive to the parliament.

There was no reference to the role of Governor-General David Hurley, who made a rare statement this week that his ­office was “not responsible for publishing changes to the administrative arrangements for departments”.

Then attorney-general Christian Porter gave Mr Morrison the idea to appoint himself to the health portfolio at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the new book Plagued written by The Australian’s Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers.

But between March 30, 2020, and May 6, 2021, he went on to ­appoint himself to jointly ad­minister four other departments – finance,­ ­resources, Treasury, and home ­affairs – without the knowledge of three of the four ministers ­concerned.

Mr Morrison defended his ­actions last week, saying it was “necessary” to secretly oversee five portfolios during Covid-19 ­because there was an expectation he was responsible for “every single thing that was going on”.

Mr Albanese said on Friday that Ms Bell would report back by November 25, allowing time for any necessary legislation to be put to parliament – to prevent the situation from happening again – before the end of the year.