‘Lessons learned’: Morrison responds to damning legal findings

The New Daily
Aug 23, 2022, updated Aug 23, 2022

Despite criticism from health experts, the prime minister says the lowering of mandatory isolation periods for COVID to five days was a necessary move. Photo: AAP

Scott Morrison has responded to the damning legal findings about his secret ministerial appointments, by saying “some decisions needed to be reflected upon and lessons learned”.

Hours after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took the rare step of releasing the solicitor-general’s advice into the secret portfolios, Mr Morrison responded with a lengthy statement on Facebook.

“In the extraordinary circumstances I was contending with, decisions were made and then I kept moving forward. We did not dwell on such decisions, especially those of a precautionary nature as they were effectively dormant,” he wrote on Tuesday afternoon.

“In hindsight, some of these decisions will be reflected upon now and lessons learned. The Solicitor-General has noted a number of these points from his perspective in his advice and I am sure this will help guide any changes in these areas.

“I will appropriately assist any genuine process to learn the lessons from the pandemic. I would expect that any credible processes would also extend to the actions of the states and territories.”

Mr Morrison said he accepted that many Australians would not agree with, accept or understand “all the decisions I made during those difficult times”.

“I can only state that I took the decisions I did as prime minister with the best of intentions, in good faith and to do all I could to protect Australia in the face of multiple crises,” he said.

“I am proud and thankful for what we were able to achieve in such difficult circumstances.”

Mr Albanese released advice from the solicitor-general on Tuesday into the legal implications of Mr Morrison’s decision to secretly swear himself in as a second resources minister.

It found that Mr Morrison was validly appointed to the role in April 2021, but the secrecy surrounding the appointment was unusual.

“[That] the parliament, the public and the other ministers who thereafter administered [the resources department] concurrently with Mr Morrison were not informed of Mr Morrison’s appointment was inconsistent with the conventions and practices that form an essential part of the system of responsible government,” the advice said.

“It is impossible for parliament and the public to hold ministers accountable for the proper administration of particular departments if the identity of the ministers who have been appointed to administer those departments is not publicised.”

Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison must apologise

Source: Twitter/ABC

The Albanese government has said it will also hold an inquiry into Mr Morrison’s decision to appoint himself to multiple ministries. The government is also mulling moving a motion of censure against the former prime minister on the floor of parliament when it returns in September.

That action, to condemn Mr Morrison’s secretive actions, would be expected to pass the House of Representatives on Labor’s numbers. There is also the potential for some former Coalition cabinet ministers, who have expressed their disappointment in his secretive portfolio grab publicly and privately, to cross the floor.

The motion would formally record the House’s disapproval of what Mr Morrison has done, but would not have a significant impact on him.

In addition, Greens leader Adam Bandt has written to Speaker Milton Dick, asking for the issue to be referred the parliament’s powerful privileges committee.

The solicitor-general’s advice said the governor-general had no discretion to refuse the then-Coalition prime minister’s advice to appoint him as minister across multiple portfolios.

Mr Albanese has promised a standalone inquiry into Mr Morrison’s actions.

“It needs to be not a political inquiry but an inquiry with an eminent person with a legal background to consider all of the implications,” he said in Canberra on Tuesday

“We will make a future announcement about an inquiry. I am giving notice today that that inquiry will take place. This isn’t something that can be just dismissed.”

Mr Albanese said the inquiry would also look at reform to ensure secret appointments could not take place again.

The solicitor-general’s advice also recommended changes, including altering the form of published ministry lists to include all appointments and responsibilities.

“The government could require, as an administrative practice, the website of each department to list all of the ministers who have been appointed to administer that department,” the advice said.

“Further or alternatively, a practice could be adopted of publishing in the gazette all appointments made under section 64 of the constitution.”

It also raised an alarm about changes introduced shortly after Mr Morrison became prime minister. The ministry was list was restructured and reworded in a way that concealed the nature of cabinet ministers’ appointments.

“The impetus for the inclusion of those words is unclear, although it seems possible that they were included so as to ensure that the tabling of the ministry list did not mislead parliament,” the report said.

Mr Albanese said he asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to work with the Governor-General’s office to adopt the practice of gazetting all future appointments.

“We will also give further consideration to whether any further immediate changes are required,” he said.

“One of the things we will need to consider is any future legislative changes to make sure that that is enshrined, to make sure that it is not dependent upon the goodwill of the government of the day.”

Mr Albanese said the government had not decided whether to support a possible censure motion of Mr Morrison in parliament during the next sitting week.

Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said regardless of the findings Mr Morrison should face repercussions.

“There needs to be some political consequence for a person who has flouted the Westminster cabinet system so completely,” he told ABC News.

“It needs to be a severe consequence, because what we saw was a total undermining.”

Mr Morrison intervened as co-resources minister, by blocking the PEP-11 gas exploration licence off the NSW coast after then-resources minister Keith Pitt approved the project.

The final decision is now the subject of a Federal Court appeal.

Mr Morrison, who was also secretly sworn into the treasury, finance, health and home affairs portfolios, has maintained that was the only time he used his powers to interfere.

-with AAP

Topics: Instagram News, Scott Morrison