The former conservative leader secretly usurped the powers of five ministries without their heads knowing, sending the country into an institutional crisis
“We don’t believe in governments.” The phrase was uttered in July by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a devout Christian, in a sermon at a Pentecostal church. Two months had passed since he lost power following the blow to the Liberal National Alliance he led in the federal election in May. The phrase couldn’t be more prescient. His shenanigans of the past two years have brought the country to the brink of constitutional crisis.
Morrison became prime minister again in 2018 after the resignation of Malcolm Turnbull and after winning a primary trial against his party colleague Peter Dutton. In 2019, his coalition won the polls. And in the spring of 2020, there was a global pandemic. Now, more than two years later, it has been discovered that Morrison has been secretly given the powers of five ministries from his Executive without the knowledge of the holders of the respective portfolios.
The affected areas were Health, as of March 14, 2020; Finance, since March 30 of the same year; Home Affairs and the Treasury, from May 6, 2021; and Industry and Science, dated April 15, 2021. In practice, this erratic assumption of positions did not translate into anything relevant, except on one occasion, where Morrison used his powers to cripple a controversial gas project.
“These were extraordinary times and extraordinary measures were needed to respond. Our government’s primary goal was to save lives and livelihoods, and we accomplished that,” Morrison defended when the scandal came to light. ‘You’re standing on the coast afterwards. But I was at the helm of the ship in the midst of the storm,” he declared in the purest style of Leviathan by the English writer and philosopher John Hobbes.
True, Morrison’s tenure has been anything but peaceful. The new military alliance with the United Kingdom and the United States — dubbed Aukus — infuriated China, a regional neighbor, and unleashed an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with France. The Australian government canceled a multimillion-dollar contract with the French military shipyard Naval Group and opted for an alternative agreement with its new partners. In terms of health, the pandemic hit the country and the latest wave of the ommicron variant, active since November last year, put the system under control. And in early 2021, Morrison faced one of the worst firefights in recent Australian history.
In any case, the scandal is huge and has sparked a great deal of debate. “This is the kind of ‘minor’ activity that we would ridicule if it were in a non-democratic country. The Australian people deserve better than this disregard for democratic processes and our system of government,” said the country’s current Prime Minister, Labor Anthony Albanese.
The question now is to clarify how far the former president’s responsibilities go. The Southern country’s Attorney General Stephen Donaghue has already said Morrison’s actions were not illegal or unconstitutional, but that they “deeply undermined” the principles of responsible governance and the democratic system. Several studies are already underway.
The reactions were not long in coming. Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, who replaced Morrison at the head of the party, has already asked him to leave his seat in Congress. Something he firmly refuses.
There are still doubts to clarify. For example, the role of the Island’s Governor General, David Hurley, who acts as Queen Elizabeth’s representative in Australia. Hurley was the one who signed and authorized Morrison’s secret appointments. We will have to wait for the end of the investigations
The idea of the former president to unite the main ministries of his administration in his person is already reflected in the polls, always feared by the political class. The big beneficiary is Albanian, the current prime minister, who won federal elections in May and brought Labor back to power after ten years of conservative rule. He has the support of 55% of citizens, according to a recent poll conducted by demographic firm Resolve for the ‘Sidney Morning Herald’ newspaper. Dutton, leader of the Liberal Party instead of Morrison, only gets 17%.
The gap is also large for political parties. 42% support Labor (33% in May), while the coalition of Liberals and Nationals has fallen from 36% to 28% over the same period.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
