ANOTHER ONE: Scott Morrison Also Swore Himself In As Social Services Minister
Anthony Albanese has noted it is unlikely he was paid extra for these jobs, but the government will investigate further.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his shady move to secretly appoint himself to several ministries, admitting that he actually did it more than we previously thought.
In addition to the resources, health and finance portfolios, Morrison announced he also took joint power of the social services portfolio back in June last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking with 2GB radio on Tuesday, Morrison — who is no stranger to a fib — didn’t dispute the claims and defended his actions.
“I don’t recall that … I don’t dispute that and my answer for all that is the same, we were dealing with an incredible amount of discretion and money being paid,” said Morrison. “They were unprecedented times and as a result they were very unconventional times.
“Fortunately, none of these [appointments] in the case of the finance and the health portfolio were ever required to be used.”
Morrison stressed that he still thinks “it was the right decision”.
As for his total blindsiding of former finance minister Mathias Cormann, Morrison said he has apologised and blamed his office for not relaying the information. “That was an error… I’ve apologised to Mathias for that,” he told 2GB. “I thought the matter had been sorted between offices.”
Morrison, however, has remained tight-lipped thus far as to whether he exercised these powers to block the Pep11 gas exploration license — the allegations that surfaced this week.
In an interview with ABC Radio on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was unclear whether Morrison’s secret jobs could be a matter for a federal integrity commission — the very thing the former PM promised and never delivered. “I’m uncertain there. What is clear though is we need to get to the bottom of this,” he told ABC’s Patricia Karvelas on Tuesday.
Albanese has also stressed that he doubts Morrison would’ve been paid for the additional jobs he secretly took on, but he is seeking further legal advice to confirm this. It remains unclear if Morrison has been upfront about every portfolio he swore himself into, or if there will be more revelations to come.