FEDERAL Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says he had no idea former Prime Minister Scott Morrison had sworn himself into multiple portfolios secretly in 2020 and 2021.
Writing on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning, Mr Chester said Mr Morrison should explain his decisions.
“And while he’s doing that … he should provide a list of the times, dates and of all the portfolios he was sworn into, who knew of the arrangements, and when he actually exercised Ministerial decision making powers in those roles,” Mr Chester said.
“Notwithstanding we were in the middle of a global pandemic: The traditions of democratic transparency, Cabinet process and individual Ministerial responsibility are at the heart of the Westminster system, and Australians are owed an explanation about these extraordinary arrangements.
“For the record, I have no idea whether the former Prime Minister was also sworn in as Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel … and the weekend media reports were a complete surprise to me too!”
Mr Morrison wrote a lengthy statement on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon addressing the scandal.
“The use of the powers by a Prime Minister to exercise authority to administer Departments has clearly caused concern. I regret this, but acted in good faith in a crisis,” he said. On Wednesday, he took questions from the media.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that Mr Morrison had appointed himself to these positions:
The Department of Health on March 14 2020;
The Department of Finance on March 30 2020;
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on April 15 2021, and;
Both the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Treasury on May 6 2021.
