Scott Morrison censure: How former PM is defending himself as House prepares to censure him
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Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been formally censured by the Australian House of Representatives.
He is the first prime minister, sitting or former, to be convicted by parliament in a largely symbolic move condemning him for the “minister for everything” scandal.
Parliament spent nearly three hours debating whether to censure Mr Morrison before voting 86 to 50 in favour.
The entire crossbench, except Bob Katter, joined Labor in supporting the motion, along with Liberal MP Bridget Archer crossing the floor to vote yes.
Mr Morrison showed no emotion as the count was read out, knowing it was a foregone conclusion from the moment it was first presented.
Last year, the former prime minister was secretly sworn in as treasurer and minister of the Interior, Finance, Health and Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been formally censured by the Australian House of Representatives
None of the ministers for these portfolios, except Greg Hunt for health, knew that he had secretly doubled their jobs.
In addition to acknowledging that some (but not all) appointments were unnecessary, Mr. Morrison’s actions were forceful and he made no apology.
Mr Albanese, the current prime minister, waited nearly two hours to stand up to support the censure and said he was unsure if he would speak at all.
“But I have to respond to the comments of the former prime minister, who has reaffirmed that he just doesn’t get it,” he said.
“He said this morning that he had private conversations with my colleagues.
‘[But] it’s not about Josh Frydenberg. It’s about the people of Australia. That’s who we’re accountable to.’
Mr Albanese was particularly critical of Mr Morrison not using his speech as an opportunity to apologise, or even admit that he had done anything wrong.
“I thought this morning we’d see some remorse—what. A semblance of remorse. We have none of that,” he said.
“We got hubris and we got denial from the former prime minister, who despite the fact that when we were appointed there were a number of things we could have done as a government.
“The former Prime Minister owes an apology, not to people he shared breakfast with at The Lodge – he owes an apology to the Australian people for undermining democracy.”
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been criticized by the Federal Parliament for secretly taking on additional ministerial portfolios while in government – but he has vigorously defended his actions.
It is the first time the House of Representatives has taken this action against a former prime minister – with Liberal and National MPs walking out of the chamber instead of voting.
House leader Tony Burke introduced the motion just after 9 a.m. Wednesday, saying that while disapproval was rare, it had its place in parliament.
“The court is the place to determine whether something was lawful or not, but in parliament we determine whether or not something was appropriate,” he said.
‘This is no small thing. It touches the absolute core of the principle of responsible management.’
Mr Morrison was in the room at 9:30am to vigorously defend his actions.
“I do not now intend to submit to the political intimidation of this government, which uses its figures here to impose its retaliation on a political opponent,” he told parliament.
Mr Morrison stood in the chamber to vigorously defend his actions as he became the first former prime minister to face a censure motion from the House of Representatives
Ex-Prime Minister Scott Morrison is recognized by fellow opposition MPs after speaking on a motion of censure brought against him by House Leader Tony Burke
“I reiterate that I welcome and support the recommendations of the Bell study.
“To those who wish to express their judgment today on my actions in support of this motion of censure, I suggest that they stop and consider the following: Have you ever faced a crisis whose prospects were completely unknown?
‘Were you able to make all the decisions perfectly well in such circumstances? And where you may have made mistakes, were you lucky that they had no material impact on the result and the result itself turned out to be leading?
“Once you’ve thought about your own experience, or what happens when you’ve had more in government, you might want to throw the first stone in this place.”
Mr Burke said Mr Morrison has undermined, rejected, attacked and abused the standards expected of MPs.
He said the former coalition government had attacked conventions and enabled Mr Morrison’s behaviour.
“This place runs on rules and conventions … the concept that parliament knows who has what job is essential to responsible government,” Burke said.
‘You can’t have a responsible government if you don’t know what people are responsible for. And for two years we didn’t know.’
He said Mr Morrison’s behavior prevented the House of Representatives from doing its job and was “completely unacceptable”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also spoke about the motion, telling the House: ‘The fact is that our democracy is precious. There is no room for complacency.
“We have seen abroad, including with the attack on the United States Capitol, that we cannot take our democracy for granted.”
Liberal MP, Bridget Archer, who will vote with the Albanian Labor government to reprimand the former prime minister, said Morrison’s actions were an “insult” to the nation.
“This Parliament has the right to be informed of the appointments,” said Ms Archer.
‘The people of Australia had a right to information. What is more fundamental in our democracy than this?
“I do not accept any of the former prime minister’s explanations for the actions and I am deeply disappointed with the lack of apology or, more importantly, the lack of understanding of the impact of the decisions.”
Scott Morrison smiles as House Labor leader Tony Burke moved censure motion against him on Tuesday
Motions of censure have no legal effect, but are rare and give MPs the chance to formally censure their colleagues.
Mr Morrison appointed himself as Minister of Health, Finance, Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, Finance and Home Affairs between 2020 and 2021, without the knowledge of most of his coalition colleagues.
The administration agreed to implement all six recommendations from former Supreme Court Justice Virginia Bell’s report into Mr. Morrison’s conduct, to improve the transparency of ministerial appointments.
Social Affairs Minister Amanda Rishworth said that while parliament was about to introduce legislation according to the report’s recommendations, a censure was still needed.
“These are really serious allegations and parliament has the right to debate, discuss and vote on these actions,” she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
“It is quite right that parliament should have a say, it is the heart of democracy in Australia.”
Mr Morrison sits with fellow Liberal MP Alex Hawke (left) as the motion of censure was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday
Ms Rishworth said it was disheartening that the coalition did not support the censure motion.
“It is very disappointing that despite the great public concern over this issue, the Liberal Party and the National Party have decided not to support it by sending a strong message from our parliament, that this kind of … power grab is not appropriate in the Australian democracy,” she said.
The report found that the secrecy surrounding the appointments undermined confidence in the government and undermined public confidence in the government.
Legislative changes to improve transparency are expected to gain the support of the coalition.
The last MP to be censured was Liberal MP Bruce Billson in 2018 for failing to declare payments while still in Parliament.