Australia’s PM Confirms Scott Morrison Censure Motion in Parliament After Secret Ministries Inquiry

A report, released on 25 November, described the act of former prime minister Scott Morrison to assume control secretly over several ministries including health, finance, home affairs, and industry between March 2020 and May 2021 as “bizarre” and “unnecessary”, and a move that undermined public trust in the government.

Scott Morrison, Australia’s former prime minister, will face a censure motion in parliament this week, the present head of the Labor government has confirmed.

Anthony Albanese, who has been prime minister since May 2022, told the media that his cabinet had agreed to the move after an inquiry into his predecessor’s actions in connection with the secret ministries scandal. Either Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus or Tony Burke, Leader of the House, is expected to introduce the censure motion in parliament.

“This is about accountability of our democratic system, and whether parliament was functioning properly. The former prime minister wasn't responsible to the parliament, and through parliament to the electors … That had [the] real consequence of acting to undermine public confidence in government, and was corrosive of trust in government,” Albanese said after Monday’s cabinet meeting.

According to Abanese, the six recommendations presented to the government by former High Court judge Justice Virginia Bell, who spearheaded the Morrison inquiry, have been endorsed by his cabinet, including legislation that would guarantee all new ministerial appointments be made public.

“These are serious recommendations going forward. We will introduce legislation later this week to make sure that this can never, ever happen again,” he said.

Released on 25 November, the report stated that Morrison had undermined public trust in the government by secretly assuming control of five key ministerial portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021. The report had concluded that the clandestine appointments were “bizarre” and “unnecessary". It was added that the ex-PM had even eyed the agriculture portfolio.

The bombshell revelation of the secret portfolios came in August. It was found that Morrison assumed control over the five key ministries while keeping the public and a greater part of his colleagues in the dark. Morrison did not relinquish the portfolios until he lost power in a general election in May.

In the wake of the report's damning findings, Morrison insisted that he had offered the inquiry every support and he defended his actions which, since they came at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he claimed were not illegal. Indeed, Justice Bell had made no such conclusion in her ultimate report.

The politician who is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and currently a Member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales seat of Cook rejected calls for his resignation, adding:

“These decisions were taken during an extremely challenging period, where there was a need for considerable urgency. I note that the criticisms of my decisions have been made after the event and with the benefit of this perspective.”

Australia's Liberal Party has confirmed that it intends to vote against the censure motion. David Littleproud, leader of the country's National Party, a partner in the Liberal–National coalition, said that they would also vote against the motion stressing that it is “another layer of politicisation”.