A look at Scott Morrison’s more notorious moments ahead of his retirement from politics next month
Scott Morrison has confirmed he’ll be quitting politics next month. Here’s a look back at some of his more notorious moments.
Scott Morrison was never one to shy away from the cameras during his 16 years in politics.
From winning an unwinnable election, to crash-tackling an eight-year-old on the campaign trail and his secret ministries scandal, it’s fair to say the former prime minister has a lot to look back on when he leaves politics next month.
But before he bows out, NCA NewsWire took a trip down memory lane to round up some of his more notorious moments.
Secret ministries
Undoubtedly the biggest scandal to rock Mr Morrison came to light in the weeks after he was dumped by voters at the federal election.
In 2020 and 2021, Mr Morrison secretly had himself appointed to administer the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and industry, science, energy and resources portfolios.
In most cases, without the knowledge of the existing minister.
Mr Morrison defended the decision on multiple occasions. The final time was when he rose to speak in parliament as he was censured by the House of Representatives for his actions.
It was the first time the house had censured a former prime minister.
He said the decision was made amid the “extraordinary times” of the pandemic.
An investigation found the appointments were legal and he only used his additional power once – to overrule a minister to block the controversial Pep-11 gas exploration licence off the coast of NSW.
The ill-fated trip to Hawaii … and Cobargo
Mr Morrison’s decision to sneak out of the country for a family holiday in Hawaii in the middle of the 2019-20 bushfire crisis sparked fierce backlash across the country.
The holiday, kept secret by the then-prime minister’s office until it could no longer be denied, was made public after pictures emerged of him throwing up a shaka while he posed with Aussies also on vacay.
As the criticism burned through to the mainstream, Mr Morrison broke his silence while still in Hawaii – where he gifted his opponents with his most notorious sound bite to date.
“I don’t hold a hose, mate,” he told 2GB.
He later let his wife Jenny take the blame for the saga during a 60 Minutes interview – the same one in which he strummed a ukulele and sang April Sun in Cuba.
“I thought I was making the right decision for my kids. I obviously was wrong,” Mrs Morrison said while the then-PM sat next to her and nodded.
He ultimately ended his trip to Hawaii short and headed to the fire-ravaged NSW South Coast.
It was there Mr Morrison was filmed meeting local residents, forcing a young woman and an exhausted firefighter to shake his hand.
The trip did not go down well. He later said he understood the frustration of residents who heckled him as he made a quick getaway.
Going viral … for Covid
Mr Morrison experienced a bounce in popularity for his initial handling of the Covid pandemic.
It couldn’t come at a better time for the prime minister, who was still suffering in the court of public opinion over his Hawaii trip.
Taking the lessons he learned in the bushfire debacle, Australia was one of the first to declare Covid-19 a pandemic.
The government was quick to close the borders and place restrictions on movement. It introduced JobKeeper, which saved many Aussie jobs in the middle of the crisis.
He even went a different kind of viral when a 15-second clip of Mr Morrison chastising a then-ABC political editor Andrew Probyn went was uploaded to TikTok.
“Andrew, I’m sorry, Andrew. I know, but you don’t run the press conference, OK” he said, which later sparked a dance remix.
But the bounce didn’t last long. Australia dragged behind other nation’s in rolling out Covid vaccines.
He dramatically insisted the rollout was “not a race” days before the arrival of the Delta strain sent the nation back into lockdowns.
The former prime minister was one of the first in Australia to be jabbed. He did so alongside 70-year-old Jane Malysiak who went viral herself for hilariously giving a rude gesture instead of a peace sign, or a V for vaccine.
Mr Morrison later apologised for the slow vaccine rollout.
The former prime minister also was criticised for Australia’s slow approval of at-home Covid testing, and short supply of tests as cases skyrocketed.
Making an enemy of Macron
A diplomatic row broke out between Australia and France, after the Morrison government opted to pull out of a $90bn submarine deal in favour of the AUKUS.
So caught off guard and furious was Paris, it pulled its top diplomat in Canberra out of the country in September 2021.
The next month, just hours after Mr Morrison and Emmanuel Macron shared an awkward exchange at the G20 Summit in Rome in October 2021, the French President made his feelings known.
“I have a lot of respect for your country, a lot of respect and friendship for your people,” Mr Macron told Australian journalists.
“I just say when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in line and consistent with this value.”
Asked if he believed Mr Morrison had lied, Mr Macron responded: “I don’t think, I know”.
Mr Morrison said he was “not going to cop sledging of Australia”.
Text messages between the pair later leaked, which showed Mr Macron texting Mr Morrison two days before the AUKUS announcement to ask if France “should expect good or bad news for our joint submarine ambitions”.
The Macron government was furious at the leaking of the messages, telling French media confidence had been “completely shattered”.
Response to Brittany Higgins’ allegations
When Brittany Higgins’ went public with her allegations that she had been raped inside Parliament House two years earlier, Mr Morrison was at first tight-lipped.
He later revealed he’d been sparked into action when his wife had suggested he view it through the lens of being a father of daughters.
“Jenny has a way of clarifying things; she always has,” he said at the time.
Mr Morrison was widely lashed for the comments, including by Ms Higgins, coming under fire for lacking empathy and understanding.
Comments Mr Morrison made at the March4Justice rally in March 2021 also copped criticism.
As thousands of women took to the lawns outside Parliament House, Mr Morrison not only refused to go outside, but later that day told parliament: “Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets”.
The man Ms Higgins accused of raping her, Bruce Lehrmann, has always maintained his innocence and has never been found guilty.
Photo ops a plenty
Like any prime minister, Mr Morrison loved a photo opportunity. But it didn’t always go as planned.
His awkward photo with Grace Tame at the Lodge during an Australia Day function comes to mind. Or the memorable moment he pulled up his welders cap to inspect the sparks.
But there was one picture that sent shockwaves through the Morrison camp during the election campaign.
Mr Morrison had taken to the field in Tasmania to join a junior team in their training when it happened. He accidentally wiped out a small child.
Luca Fauvette, the child in question, later confirmed he was OK and Mr Morrison said he’d been a “good sport” about it all.
‘I’m ambitious for him’
Scott Morrison emerged as Australia’s next prime minister after a bruising leadership battle between Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Dutton.
Just days before, he was asked to rule out if he had any leadership ambitions of his own.
He threw his arm around Mr Turnbull’s shoulder. “This is my leader and I’m ambitious for him,” he declared.
Two days later, Mr Turnbull was dumped.
Mr Morrison would later be accused of being in it “right up to his neck” despite maintaining the spectre of becoming an “accidental prime minister” stepping up to block Mr Dutton’s leadership bid.
Originally published as A look at Scott Morrison’s more notorious moments ahead of his retirement from politics next month
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