On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the former leader to apologise to Australians for “a trashing of our democratic system.”
However, Mr. Morrison’s self-appointments had to be approved by Governor-General David Hurley, who said he had no reason to think they wouldn’t be made public.
Mr. Hurley attempted to defend his own judgement, which has been questioned, by separating himself from the mounting rage around the hidden portfolios.
In addition to calling for Mr. Morrison’s resignation, right-wing media and even government lawmakers have also questioned Mr. Hurley’s future.
Although others have privately urged Mr. Morrison to resign from parliament, former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews was the first Liberal MP to openly demand it on Tuesday.
Andrew Bolt, the anchor of Sky News, then launched into an astounding, almost ten-minute-long rant against Mr. Morrison.
As of today, the issue surrounding former prime minister Scott Morrison has become even more weird, according to Bolt.
“He’s done; simply leave the legislature at this point.”
A representative for Mr. Hurley said in a statement that Mr. Morrison’s choice to keep the identities of the five ministry appointments a secret was a concern for the previous administration.
It comes after Mr. Morrison conducted a lengthy, meandering news conference on Wednesday in which he refused to leave the House of Representatives and said that he assumed the additional positions “to exercise choices in an emergency scenario.”
He rationalised his conduct by claiming that he required his five secret ministries in case of an emergency when he would have to act in the benefit of the country.
According to him, “It was a truly remarkable moment that challenged every fibre and sinew of government… (and) Australian society.”
At the federal and state levels, “we made choices — I did so as prime minister, and we did so as a cabinet — that some of us would never have dreamt we would ever have to make.”
Mr. Morrison said that he would be willing to assist any investigation into what he termed “gaps” in the system of ministerial appointment.
According to Mr. Hurley’s spokeswoman, it was not his duty to inform the public of Mr. Morrison’s adjustments to the ministry.
He said, “The Governor-General had no reason to assume that appointments would not be announced.”
“Any issues about confidentiality after the Governor-General took action on the recommendation of the current administration are a problem for the former government,” the statement reads.
According to the spokesperson, Mr. Hurley regularly followed the government’s recommendations and process.
“The Governor-General signs a document to follow the current administration’s recommendations.
He said, “That procedure (to nominate a minister) is responsibility for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.”
In regard to the PEP-11 gas project off the coast of New South Wales, one of Mr. Morrison’s actions as minister of resources is now being reviewed by the Federal Court.
On Monday, the Solicitor-General will provide Mr. Albanese advice about any potential further legal ramifications of Mr. Morrison’s actions.
On Wednesday, Mr. Morrison insisted to reporters in Sydney that quietly assuming five more responsibilities wasn’t a power grab.
Except for the choice on the resources portfolio, he said he never utilised the authorities or disobeyed ministers.
Only I, as prime minister, could really comprehend the burden that rested on my shoulders, he said.
The lack of use of these powers “proves that they were managed properly, that they were not misused, and that they were there in a reserve capacity to guarantee the prime minister could act if that was required,” says the author.
In order to “not damage the trust of ministers,” Mr. Morrison said he kept the powers a secret.
To the best of my knowledge, I don’t believe I ever overrode any ministers in any of their agencies, with the exception of (PEP-11).
Mr. Morrison has expressed regret for keeping his colleagues in the dark, including three of the five ministers whose posts he covertly nominated himself to without their knowledge.
Many cross-benchers have shown interest in sending Mr. Morrison to certain parliamentary committees.
He said that he would be glad to collaborate with any “real or productive approach” that looked at how the government had responded to the outbreak.
Labor is thinking about how to increase the transparency of ministry appointments.
Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition party, who has supported Mr. Morrison throughout the crisis, promised to cooperate with the government to put “checks and balances in place to make sure it can’t happen again.”
Democracy, according to Mr. Albanese, cannot be taken for granted. “Democracy is eroding everywhere,” People are now battling in Ukraine to defend democracy against the emergence of authoritarian governments.
He told reporters in Brisbane, “Our democracy is valuable; we need to maintain it and enhance it, not weaken it.”
Parliamentarians and ministers are held accountable for areas for which they are responsible, hence it is “clearly deceiving the parliament.”