Scott Morrison’s decision to secretly take on extra ministerial portfolios has been labelled as corrosive of trust in government.
A report by former High Court judge Virginia Bell into the multiple ministries found the secrecy surrounding the appointments he took on as prime minister was “apt to undermine public confidence in government”.
“Once the appointments became known, the secrecy with which they had been surrounded was corrosive of trust in government,” the report said.
“Given that the parliament was not informed of any of the appointments, it was unable to hold Mr Morrison to account in his capacity as minister administering any of these five departments.”
Ms Bell recommended six changes to be made following the report, including implementing legislation requiring public notifications of the appointment of ministers.
She also recommended publishing details of which ministers were appointed to administer departments and outlining different responsibilities when more than one minister was appointed to the same department.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would recommend cabinet implement all six recommendations.
“The quick implementation of these recommendations will ensure that the Australian public can have full confidence that this breach of trust will never happen again,” he said.
“The unprecedented and inexcusable actions of the former prime minister were emblematic of the culture of secrecy in which the previous government operated.”
Mr Morrison appointed himself minister of the departments of health, finance, industry, science, energy and resources, treasury and home affairs, without the knowledge of most of the appointed ministers.
Ms Bell was asked by Mr Anthony Albanese to inquire into the portfolios issue after the solicitor-general found Mr Morrison’s action had “fundamentally undermined” the principles of responsible government.
Mr Albanese asked for the inquiry to explore how and why the action was taken and who knew about it.
The solicitor-general found it was “impossible for the parliament to hold ministers to account for the administration of departments if it does not know which ministers are responsible for which departments”.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley dismissed reports the coalition had determined to downplay the severity of Mr Morrison’s actions and said it would support closing the loophole that was exploited.
The health and finance portfolio roles began in March 2020, while he started as industry minister in April 2021, and home affairs and treasury in May 2021.
He justified the action by saying the only time he used his extra powers was in vetoing the PEP11 resource exploration project off the NSW coast.
Mr Morrison intended the powers to be used only in extreme circumstances “due to incapacity or in the national interest”.
© AAP 2022
