Anthony Albanese will receive advice next week on the legal impacts of Scott Morrison’s decision to hold five other ministerial portfolios in government.
The prime minister revealed on Tuesday Mr Morrison had been sworn into the finance, treasury, health, home affairs and resources and industry portfolios in secret.
An administrative arrangements order signed by Mr Morrison and Governor-General David Hurley on June 28, 2021, on top of these, also gave the former prime minister oversight of some social services legislation.
The solicitor-general is due to provide advice next Monday.
“The Westminster system relies upon checks and balances,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
“The former government, Scott Morrison and others who were involved in this, deliberately undermined those checks and balances that are so important and essential for our democracy.”
Mr Morrison’s appointments were made between March 2020 and May 2021.
“The implications are still being worked through. We know that there is a legal matter in the issue of resources,” Mr Albanese said, referring to the offshore PEP-11 gas project off the NSW coast.
“I am seeking further advice as to the use of these extraordinary powers by Scott Morrison and other examples of it.”
Mr Morrison defended his actions, saying it was a decision taken as precaution during the middle of the pandemic.
“Sometimes we forget what was happening two years ago and the situation we were dealing with; it was an unconventional time and an unprecedented time,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Tuesday.
“Boris Johnson almost died one night. We had ministers go down with COVID.”
Mr Morrison called the actions “a two key approach”.
“We had to take some extraordinary measures to put safeguards in place,” he said.
“Fortunately, none of these in the case of the finance and health portfolio were ever required to be used.
“The powers in those portfolios, they weren’t overseen by cabinet. The minister … in both cases had powers that few, if any, ministers in our federation’s history had.”
Mr Morrison said all actions were taken to ensure the “buck stopped with the prime minister” as he had no legal powers to directly order a minister to take a certain decision.
“If I wished to be the decision maker, then I had to take the steps that I took,” he said of a call to overrule resources minister Keith Pitt on PEP-11.
“People know where the buck stops and the buck stops with the prime minister. I sought to be the decision maker on that issue because of its importance.”
Mr Morrison says his failure to inform then finance minister Mathias Cormann he had been sworn into his portfolio was a regrettable oversight, thinking the information had been passed on through offices.
A spokesperson for Governor-General David Hurley says he followed processes consistent with the constitution in appointing Mr Morrison to the additional portfolios.
“It is not uncommon for ministers to be appointed to administer departments other than their portfolio responsibility,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Such appointments do not require a swearing-in ceremony but rather the governor-general signs an administrative instrument on the advice of the prime minister.
But Mr Albanese didn’t commit to releasing the instruments or changing the process which allowed the signings to be done in secret without being gazetted or otherwise made public.
“I’m being transparent by holding a press conference as soon as possible to let you know some more information so that it doesn’t just drip out,” he said.
I’m open to a change of reforms or suggestions. But let’s be clear, this isn’t business-as-usual. Conventions apply to the way our democracy functions.
“We will get proper advice. We will then have proper deliberations.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he didn’t know Mr Morrison had sworn himself into the cabinet positions.
He said such decisions were “in the domain of the prime minister of the day”.
© AAP 2022
