Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison allegedly held five positions in the government covertly, according to current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
He called the actions of his predecessor “unprecedented devastation of our democracy.”
Following the discoveries, which started to surface on Monday, Mr. Morrison is receiving calls to quit as a member of parliament.
He has, however, defended them by stating that they were taken during the Covid epidemic and that he “acted in good faith in a crisis.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Albanese said that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet had informed him that Mr. Morrison had shared the portfolios of health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and resources in the two years prior to his May loss of office.
The fact that these appointments had been kept a secret from Australian voters, he continued, was “absolutely unusual.”
Some ministers, including the former finance minister Mathias Cormann, apparently had no idea that Mr. Morrison shared their responsibilities with them.
Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews promised to request that Mr. Morrison resign from his position as a member of parliament.
She told that the prime minister’s actions “undermine everything that a federal government constitutionally should stand for.”
However, Mr. Morrison attempted to defend his actions in a lengthy Facebook post. He said that his actions were taken to ensure that the government could function even if ministers were rendered incapable by Covid.
He stated that there was a very real chance of ministers becoming handicapped, ill, hospitalized, unable to perform their duties at a crucial time, or even dying.
He said he had neglected to add himself to the extra portfolios, and he acknowledged that doing so had been superfluous. He said, “There was a lot going on.”
He claimed that his decision to take on the resources portfolio was unusual because he wanted to acquire the authority to defy his minister and halt a contentious gas project.
He said, “Once I was given the go-ahead to consider this topic, I informed the Minister of my intention to do so.” “I think I acted in the best interests of the country,”
How and why the former prime minister surreptitiously appointed himself to many ministerial positions yesterday baffled the Australian public, media, and political world.
The situation is still unclear in light of today’s discoveries, but the former prime minister’s list of ministries grew.
Mr. Morrison served at various points throughout his tenure as prime minister as the minister of health, finance, home affairs, resources, and treasury.
One person was in charge of all the high-profile ministries and the decision-making authority that went along with them, and everything was done behind closed doors.
You wouldn’t be mistaken if you thought that this was departing from the path of democracy.
I recall how the former president would address Covid briefings while standing next to Greg Hunt, who was his health minister at the time. The general public was unaware that they were hearing from two ministers of health, one of whom had secretly appointed himself.
There are still many questions about what transpired, and it’s not quite obvious what administrative snag the former boss used to give himself such vast authority.
However, it is evident that this represents a glaring departure from constitutional norms. Additionally, there is an obvious lack of transparency. The public has a right to know who is in charge of what in any administration in a democracy so that they may be held responsible.
During the pandemic, the Morrison Administration did not operate in such manner.
While claiming that these were unprecedented times, the former prime minister omitted to explain why this required him to covertly assign important positions to his ministers. Why use a cloak and dagger strategy if this was actually about seizing control in a crisis?
When asked if he understood why, Mr. Albanese responded, “If you figure it out, let me know.”
