Scott Morrison ‘sorry’ as Anthony Albanese vows action on secrecy

Scott Morrison has apologised for seizing cabinet portfolios in a secret operation that has inflamed colleagues and been called a trashing of democracy by Anthony Albanese.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Sean Davey

Scott Morrison has apologised for seizing multiple cabinet portfolios – including Treasury and Home Affairs – in a secret operation that has infuriated colleagues and was described by Anthony Albanese as a trashing of democracy.

As Mr Morrison’s colleagues fumed and some demanded he ­resign immediately, he said he ­regretted keeping the appointments secret, saying he had had to plan ahead for crises during the pandemic.

 

The Prime Minister accused his predecessor of undermining democracy and cabinet government when he revealed Mr Morrison had been sworn into at least five ministerial portfolios.

The Prime Minister also opened the door to changes to the law that will make sure no future leader can take on secret appointments without the public knowing.

Mr Albanese said people other than Mr Morrison would need to be held for account for the secret appointments, with former Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Philip Gaetjens and other bureaucrats in PM&C coming under scrutiny for their role in Mr Morrison’s cabinet moves.

The Liberal Party has split on Mr Morrison’s future in politics, with former home affairs minister Karen Andrews demanding Mr Morrison resign from parliament for undermining cabinet.

Peter Dutton and former prime minister John Howard both said he should stay on as the member for Cook.

Neither former deputy Liberal leader Josh Frydenberg, a close ally of Mr Morrison, nor Ms Andrews knew about the former prime minister’s secret appointments to their own portfolios.

In a lengthy post on Facebook, the former prime minister explained why he took on each of the five portfolios – health, finance, Treasury, home affairs, and resources – in detail and said the devastating impact of the pandemic had left him in a unique position.

“These arrangements were there as a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ safeguard,” he said.

“I also did not wish ministers to be second guessing themselves or for there to be the appearance to be a right of appeal or any diminishing of their authority to exercise their responsibilities, as this was not the intention of putting these arrangements in place.

“I simply wanted them to get on with their job, which they did admirably and I am grateful for their service.”

Mr Morrison’s explanation came hours after he told Sydney’s 2GB radio that he could not remember taking on any other portfolios other than health, finance and resources.

Revealing that his predecessor had also been sworn in as a co-treasurer and co-finance minister, Mr Albanese said Mr Morrison had undermined the Westminster system of government.

Morrison and Josh Frydenberg in 2020. Picture: Getty Images

“It’s undermined our democracy. It’s an attack on the ­Westminster system of parliamentary democracy as we know it,” Mr Albanese said at Parliament House.

“And not just Mr Morrison, but others, who were involved in this, need to be held to account in the former Morrison government. This has been government by deception. Government in secret. The appointment of not a shadow ministry by the leader of the opposition but a shadow government by the prime minister.”

Mr Albanese said several bureaucrats other than Mr Gaetjens in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet were aware of the secret appointments.

Asked if he would call a Covid-19 royal commission after the revelations, Mr Albanese said: “It would be inconceivable … that you would not have a proper examination of the circumstances around the handling of the pandemic”.

Mr Albanese said he was open to legal reforms that would prevent future secret cabinet appointments.

The PM&C investigation was triggered after The Weekend Australian revealed on Saturday that Mr Morrison hatched a radical, and until now secret, plan in March 2020 with then attorney-general Christian Porter to swear himself in as health and finance minister alongside Greg Hunt and Mathias Cormann.

The Australian understands neither Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy nor Home Affairs department chief Mike Pezzullo knew about Mr Morrison’s appointment to administer their departments.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Bewildered” and “gobsmacked” former cabinet ministers lashed the “inexplicable” lack of transparency over Mr Morrison’s decision-making while Nationals MPs, who on Monday were furious about the appointments, joined Mr Dutton in declaring there was no reason for the former prime minister to resign.

“It’s time for cooler heads to prevail,” Mr Dutton said. “The Prime Minister’s come out of his holiday swinging and obviously, this is an issue that he’ll get his teeth into, but there are bigger issues that frankly the families of Australia are dealing with at the moment.”

Ms Andrews said Mr Morrison swearing himself in to a ministry without telling the responsible minister or the public was “unacceptable behaviour” that undermined the integrity of government.

The Australian understands Mr Dutton encouraged Mr Morrison to make a public statement in response to the escalating scandal, which senior opposition MPs worry could run for months.

Liberal figures said Mr Dutton wanted to avoid trashing the legacy of the Morrison government, which would give Mr Albanese ammunition to ramp up attacks on the Coalition and damage its prospects at the 2025 election.

Nationals MPs have also been asked to tone back their fiery rhetoric to avoid fanning divisions inside the Coalition.

Mr Morrison is understood to have apologised privately, as well as publicly, to former cabinet colleagues on Tuesday for not informing them about his ministerial appointments. A senior opposition frontbencher said Mr Morrison’s actions were a “betrayal of trust” and that “Australians had a right to know”.

Senior Labor MPs said they couldn’t believe their luck after reading The Weekend Australian extract of the new book Plagued, which was released on Tuesday. “There’s more to come. We’ll go through all of the decisions across the portfolios. It’s such an own goal,” a senior MP said.

The closest Mr Morrison came to revealing he had given himself powers as joint health minister was on March 18, 2020.

Following a national security committee meeting, Mr Morrison said in Canberra that General Hurley had enacted the declaration of a human biosecurity emergency, triggering for the first time powers under the far-reaching Biosecurity Act.

“That is the recognition of the threat, the coronavirus, and the need for the federal government to take action under the health minister and myself, as Prime Minister, in relation to limiting that spread,” he said.

On Tuesday, Mr Morrison said he believed the appointments had been “prudent and responsible” in the midst of the pandemic, allowing him – rather than a junior minister – to step in and exercise specific ministerial powers if his colleagues had become incapacitated.

While Governor-General David Hurley’s role in the saga has come into question, Mr Albanese defended him and said he was acting upon advice of the government by swearing in Mr Morrison to the extra roles.