Scott Morrison's secret ministries were legal but undermine 'responsible government', solicitor-general finds

  • 📰 SBSNews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 61 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 28%
  • Publisher: 89%

Law Law Headlines News

Law Law Latest News,Law Law Headlines

The nation's second highest law officer has released advice as to the legal implications of Scott Morrison's unusual ministerial arrangement.

Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments were legal, according to the Commonwealth solicitor-general - but they were not consistent with "responsible government."following revelations Mr Morrison was secretly sworn into five different portfolios during 2020 and 2021.

"The undermining of responsible government therefore does not depend on the extent to which Mr Morrison exercised powers under legislation administered by DISER, because from the moment of his appointment he was both legally and politically responsible for the administration of that department, and yet he could not be held accountable for the way that he performed that role."

"I note that the Solicitor General found that the appointments were ‘valid’ and that ‘while there is some historical precedent for the publication in the Gazette of appointments to administer particular departments of State under s 64, there is no consistent practice in that regard," he wrote. Mr Albanese said the advice laid out "a very clear criticism and critique of the implications ... for our democratic system of government".

He said there were more questions to be answered with the impact on contracts and other agencies to be considered."There are other potentials as well, the former prime minister for example was the health minister and the industry minister at a time when we were considering the mRNA vaccine manufacture in Australia," he said.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in LAW

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Future inquiry to be held into Morrison’s ministerial appointmentsPrime Minister Anthony Albanese says Cabinet has determined there is a need for a further inquiry into former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments. “And we will give consideration at a future meeting into the nature of that inquiry,” Mr Albanese said during a media conference on Tuesday. He said it would be an inquiry with an “eminent person with a legal background” to “consider all of the implications”. “I’ve directed the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to work with the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General to adopt a practice of publishing in the Commonwealth Gazette future appointment of ministers to administer departments. “We will also give further consideration to whether any further immediate changes are required.” Stop wasting time Because the govt don’t have any pressing issues at the moment that spend more money on a matter that was considers legal. Pishposh Hey AlboMP hows the cost of living crisis going? have you or JEChalmers got a plan yet? or are you just going to let Australians suffer, while you hide behind other things that are not as important as rising living costs!!
Source: SkyNewsAust - 🏆 7. / 78 Read more »

Albanese hints at Morrison ministry inquiryPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated there could be further inquiries into Scott Morrison's secret ministry saga. He told Sky News even if no laws were broken in the process, the former prime minister breached long-standing parliamentary conventions. Mr Albanese will receive legal advice from the solicitor general on Monday. Rising inflation making most people suffer and he goes after the ex PM. Waste taxpayers Money, how about focusing on Australians and not point scoring This is turning into a witch hunt and sky news is going along for the ride. Weak as piss.
Source: SkyNewsAust - 🏆 7. / 78 Read more »