The solicitor general’s report on Scott Morrison being surreptitiously sworn into five ministries during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, will be made public on Tuesday.
Although it wasn’t implied that Morrison’s activities were illegal, according to Albanese, they did raise concerns about democratic norms and balances on authority.
“The checks and balances system has a fundamental flaw. How can the minister be held accountable for actions taken if no one knows who they are?” On Monday, Albanese spoke with reporters.
After being briefed on Monday, Albanese said his office had received the advice from the nation’s second-highest law officer and that it will be made public on Tuesday following a meeting of his government’s Cabinet.
After losing a general election in May, Morrison resigned as the leader of the Liberal Party. Since it was discovered that he had been secretly sworn in to ministries without informing parliament or his cabinet, an unprecedented assumption of power, he has come under fire from both the Labor government and his own party.
Prior to last week, three ministers were unaware that Morrison shared authority over their respective ministries of home affairs, treasury, and finance. Morrison said that he simply interfered in the resources ministry to stop an offshore gas project.
Albanese hinted at the possibility of a wider investigation on Sunday.
Morrison claimed that the coronavirus epidemic last week was a unique period, and that he covertly took on the ministries because he believed that he alone bore duty for the country.
Instead of a presidential system, Australia has a cabinet-based system that relies on a group of ministers to govern.
