After it came to light that Scott Morrison had nominated himself to five different cabinet roles in secret during the coronavirus outbreak, Australia’s current prime minister, Anthony Albanese, accused Morrison of subverting democracy.
From March 2020 until May 2021, Morrison served as prime minister after losing the election to Albanese in May of 2018. During that time, he was also responsible for the departments of health, home affairs, resources, finance, and the Treasury.
There was no consultation with parliament, government employees, or even any of the relevant ministers before he took the decision to seize joint responsibility of the ministries.
There was widespread condemnation of Morrison’s “shadow government,” which was partly revealed by journalists writing a book about the former prime minister’s response to the pandemic. This included Morrison’s own Liberal party.
Previous Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised Morrison’s nominations, calling them “sinister” and claiming they demonstrated “a profound lack of respect for democratic administration.”
Albanese has sought legal counsel and stated his willingness to participate in a royal commission investigation into the pandemic’s conduct, including the unusual appointments.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Australia’s prime leader said it was unclear why Morrison had given himself such sweeping powers without informing the people. According to Albanese, the decision to keep the nominations secret even from the cabinet “trashed” political conventions and trust in the political process.
The integrity of our democratic system was compromised. Albanese characterised it as an assault on “parliamentary democracy as we know it,” the Westminster model.
Morrison, who is still a member of parliament, posted a lengthy defence of his behaviour on his Facebook page. The potential for ministers to catch Covid-19 during the pandemic prompted him to call this a “prudent and reasonable move,” he said.
He had a Messiah complex, Kenny concluded. The responsible Westminster system of government is “mocked”
Albanese pondered his previous opponent’s campaign characterization of him as a “bulldozer.”
“It turns out he was the world’s first stealth bulldozer,” Albanese remarked.
