Former High Court justice Virginia Bell,who sought to hear in person from Scott Morrison about his secret ministries,had to rely heavily on press conferences and Facebook posts.
The former PM has defended his decisions to take on multiple portfolios,saying they were taken during an extremely challenging period.
Former High Court judge Virginia Bell on Friday released her report into former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret ministries. Here’s some of what she said.
The ex-PM’s secrecy meant the parliament was kept in the dark,so the House of Representatives will want its say. It has censured MPs for less.
In his first public comments on the secret ministries’ saga,former treasurer Josh Frydenberg condemned Scott Morrison’s actions as an “extreme overreach”.
Scott Morrison began in politics with few friends and ended with even fewer. In an extract from Niki Savva’s new book,Bulldozed,those who were once closest to the former prime minister speak about feeling used and deceived.
Former Howard government tourism minister Fran Bailey,who forced out Scott Morrison as head of Tourism Australia,said his prime ministership was “a tragedy for our nation”.
Howard-era minister Fran Bailey said Morrison’s prime ministership had been “a tragedy for the Liberal Party and our nation”.
It should serve as a reminder that Donald Horne’s Lucky Country cannot rely forever on being governed by second-rate people.
On the Scott Morrison inquiry,the question of over-reach may nag the prime minister,but the case for Robodebt is clear.
But sources say if the former PM doesn’t co-operate,the government could initiate a parliamentary inquiry that has the power to compel witnesses.