Scott Morrison said he was making himself a backup to other ministers during the height at the pandemic and called it a “safeguard and a redundancy”. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the decision to secretly appoint himself joint minister of the health, finance and resource portfolios.
While talking to Sydney radio station 2GB, Morrison did not dispute claims he also appointed himself to social services during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2021.
“I don’t recall that … I don’t dispute that and my answer for all that is the same, we were dealing with an incredible amount of discretion and money being paid,” he said.
“They were unprecedented times and as a result they were very unconventional times.
“Fortunately, none of these [appointments] in the case of the finance and the health portfolio were ever required to be used.”
The former Prime Minister defended keeping this secret from his own cabinet ministry, arguing this was between himself and the relevant ministers.
He did apologise to former finance minister Mathias Cormann and said it was an oversight he thought the decision was passed on by his office to him.
Morrison said he is not able to recall if there were any other portfolios he assumed power over, but that others had been considered.
He said he was making himself a backup to other ministers during the height at the pandemic and called it a “safeguard and a redundancy”.
“They are very complex, detailed issues in governance … I put in place a set of arrangements that ensured all decisions could be made instantaneously. That is the real-time crisis we were dealing with.”
He admitted taking control of the resources portfolio did not have anything to do with the pandemic.
It was to overrule the minister at the time, Keith Pitt, to block a controversial petroleum exploration licence.
Morrison said he made himself the decision-maker on the issue because of its importance.
“This is a power a minister has that is not overseen by cabinet … the minister makes their own decision and the prime minister can’t direct the minister,” he said.
“I always respected Keith’s role as the decision-maker, and if I wanted to be the decision-maker, I had to take the steps that I took.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will investigate that matter, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will be receiving legal advice from the solicitor-general.
He said he will look to close anyloophole which allowed Morrison to appoint himself to these roles.
“What we need here is a pursuit of the truth … but then also we will need some recommendations potentially of how this can be avoided in the future, because this really does undermine our democracy,” Albanese said.
