Scott Morrison says it was "necessary" for him to have additional powers while he was prime minister during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Look back on Wednesday's updates.
Key events
- Were the portfolios withdrawn from Scott Morrison secretly as well? Andrew Greene explains
- Did Scott Morrison get paid for taking on the extra portfolios? James Glenday explains
- Albanese: 'The first rule of power grab club is don't talk about power grab club, and Scott Morrison broke that rule'
- Key moments from the press conference with Scott Morrison
- Governor-General: 'I'll do my job as I've done it in the past'
- Will Scott Morrison resign?
- Morrison says he will continue to serve as Cook MP, but is yet to decide whether he will contest the next election
- Morrison: 'The criticisms of the Governor-General are egregious'
- Scott Morrison to address the media at 12:15pm AEST
- More Nationals come to Morrison's defence
- Howard says secret ministries not a 'constitutional crisis'
- 'Stop downplaying this', Home Affairs minister says
- Lambie says it's 'time for Morrison to go'
- Barnaby Joyce stands by Scott Morrison
Live updates
By Bridget Judd
Stay up-to-date with the latest developments
This is where we'll have to leave our live coverage for today, but thanks for following along.
Don't forget you can download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts so you'll never miss a thing.
Looking for more? You can find the latest news and analysis right here:
- What were the other portfolios Scott Morrison took on, and why did he take them?
- Governor-General David Hurley declines to comment further on Scott Morrison's secret ministerial self-appointments
- Questions over whether Scott Morrison was involved in delaying release of new energy price until after election
- Morrison doubles down on move to secretly acquire ministry powers after MPs call for him to resign
By Bridget Judd
There's talk of Morrison being 'censured'. What does that mean? James Glenday explains
We’re hearing about whether the government will ‘censure’ Morrison. What does that mean?
We put your question to political reporter James Glenday. Here's what he had to say:
The Government hasn’t said how it will pursue this matter when parliament resumes. It has a few options.
It could potentially move a motion of censure in the House of Representatives, which condemns the secretive actions of Scott Morrison.
Labor has a majority in the lower house and so we could reasonably expect such a motion, if moved by the Government, would be successful.
It would not mean much for Mr Morrison. The House would have simply formally expressed and recorded its disapproval of his actions.
But if the Government does do this, it would be interesting to see if any members of the Coalition, like former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, decide to vote in favour of the motion.
A number of Mr Morrison’s colleagues are privately saying they are very disappointed they weren’t told about his multiple secretive ministries.
You can read more about motions of no confidences and censure here on the Parliament House website.
By Bridget Judd
Governor-General breaks silence on Scott Morrison's secret ministerial self-appointments
If you missed that earlier exclusive by Andrew Probyn, the Governor-General is standing firm on his actions around Scott Morrison's appointment to five additional portfolios.
"I've released a statement about my role in this, my responsibilities under the principle of responsible government, by which we run our country," he told the ABC.
"I'm content at the moment to allow the processes the Prime Minister has put in place to run through until next week.
"In the meantime I'll continue to do my job as I have done it in the past."
By Bridget Judd
Can't keep up with who said what?
Let Jess Riga and Kelly Wong take you through today's events, plus a rundown on some of the reactions out of Canberra.
By Bridget Judd
What were the other portfolios Scott Morrison took on, and why did he take them?
It turns out for much of his time in office, Scott Morrison was more than just Prime Minister.
He took on the powers of five additional portfolios, and did so almost entirely in secret.
So what were these extra roles, and why did he take them on? Political reporter Tom Lowrey has taken a look.
Health
On March 14, 2020 — when the uncertainty around COVID-19 was near its peak — Mr Morrison made himself, effectively, a secondary health minister.
The reasoning he gave in today's press conference was that the health minister carried incredible special emergency powers under the Biosecurity Act, and some of it was being put to use.
Finance
On March 30, 2020, Mr Morrison also took on the powers of the finance minister, who at the time was Mathias Cormann.
At his press conference, Mr Morrison argued there were "massive financial delegations" available only to the finance minister and — like the health minister — precautions needed to be taken.
Treasury and home affairs
In May, 2021, Mr Morrison took on both the treasury and home affairs portfolios.
Mr Morrison has said he took on the roles as an "administrative precaution", as part of a "belts and braces" approach, and he never considered it likely he would use the powers that came with them.
Industry, Science and Resources
Shortly before taking on home affairs and treasury, Scott Morrison made the call to take on oversight of the diverse department.
The reason, Mr Morrison has made clear, was entirely separate to the pandemic.
He wanted to take control of the decision-making process around the extremely controversial PEP-11 exploration licence, which would explore offshore gas supplies between Sydney and Newcastle.
He would eventually reject the PEP-11 application, and this week has said this was the only decision he made with any of the additional powers he took on in any portfolio.
By Bridget Judd
Were the portfolios withdrawn from Scott Morrison secretly as well? Andrew Greene explains
Were the portfolios withdrawn from Morrison secretly as well? Or is it possible that he is still the Minister for Health, Resources etc? – Joe
Good question, Joe. We put it to the ABC's defence correspondent Andrew Greene.
Here's what he had to say:
Following the change of government at the May 21 election – all ministers of the Morrison government lost their portfolios and were replaced by members of the new Albanese government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday confirmed that his predecessor’s appointments to five additional ministerial roles came with “no end date”, but after losing office Mr Morrison was no longer prime minister, or minister for health, home affairs, finance, resources or treasurer.
By Bridget Judd
Questions over whether Scott Morrison was involved in delaying release of new energy price until after election
Queensland's Energy Minister has raised questions about who approved a delay in releasing national energy prices until after the May election.
As Alexandra Blucher from ABC Investigations reports, Mick De Brenni has criticised ex-prime minister Scott Morrison and former energy minister Angus Taylor about the amendment.
It prevented the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) from notifying the public of the new increased electricity prices before going to the polls.
In March 2022, Mr Taylor obtained the approval of the Governor-General to amend the regulations, meaning the AER's normal proclamation was not published before the nation went to the polls.
The amendment was signed by Mr Taylor on behalf of the treasurer — but it is presently unclear who played the treasurer's role.
The ABC has asked former treasurer Josh Frydenberg whether Mr Taylor signed the amendment on his behalf, but he has yet to respond.
Mr Taylor has also been asked whether it was signed on behalf of Mr Frydenberg or Mr Morrison.
The ABC has contacted Mr Morrison for comment.
At a press conference this afternoon, he said he “didn’t intervene in one decision of the Treasurer”.
“To the best of my recollection, I didn’t exercise any override of any of the ministers in any of their agencies, except for the one that I’ve specified in relation to the resources portfolio.”
By Bridget Judd
Monarchists say Governor-General should have informed cabinet of secret appointments
By political reporter James Glenday
In case you missed it earlier today, the Australian Monarchist League has criticised the Governor-General for his role in having Scott Morrison secretly appointed to additional ministries.
In a letter to members, the chair of the organisation, Philip Benwell, says the Governor-General should have at a minimum insisted that the most senior members of cabinet be notified that the then-prime minister had taken on the powers of five additional portfolios.
"The action by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to have himself sworn in as duplicate Health Minister is understandable. After all, you cannot have a minister more powerful than the head of the government," Mr Benwell said.
"However, the reasons behind the swearing in of Scott Morrison into four, or more, duplicate ministries are questionable to say the least."
"One can understand the public not being notified for fear of creating more panic but the fact the swearing-in was carried out on a totally secret basis is deplorable."
"At the very least the inner cabinet and Federal Executive Council should have been notified. (The Council was established under the Constitution to advise the Crown and is the formal, constitutional and legal body responsible for advising the Governor-General.) This is something the Governor-General should have insisted upon or otherwise refused to swear in Mr Morrison to the portfolios."
"Every official appointment, law, regulation or anything else that may affect good governance must never be kept secret and the Governor-General should never have allowed himself to be persuaded to do otherwise."
By Bridget Judd
'He was self-serving': PM comments on Scott Morrison's response
Speaking from Brisbane this afternoon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took aim at Scott Morrison's response during that earlier press conference, accusing him of refusing to take responsibility.
"The first rule of power grab club is don't talk about power grab club and Scott Morrison broke that rule today. Scott Morrison was passive aggressive and of course he was self-serving, so at least he was true to himself today," he says.
You can catch up on that clip above.
By Bridget Judd
Did Scott Morrison get paid for taking on the extra portfolios? James Glenday explains
Was Morrison entitled to any extra remuneration for working six jobs..? – James
Did Scott Morrison get paid extra for taking on these portfolios? – Mark
We put your questions to political report James Glenday. Here's what he had to say:
The Prime Minister said at a media conference in Canberra yesterday that Scott Morrison did not receive extra pay for the roles.
“I’m not aware of any financial issues arising from it,” Mr Albanese said."
Has any PM held this many portfolios before?
Did Scott Morrison effectively consolidate the statutory powers of five ministers? Has any PM ever held this many portfolios at once before? –Doug
Here's James Glenday:
It is not uncommon for Ministers to hold multiple portfolios, particularly in the early days of a Government.
For example, Anthony Albanese was sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister with Richard Marles, Penny Wong, Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher. They all briefly held additional portfolios.
But it is very unusual for the arrangements to be kept secret from the public, parliament and cabinet.
In this case, several of the Ministers, including Karen Andrews and Josh Frydenberg, claim they didn’t know Mr Morrison had appointed himself to their portfolios.
By Bridget Judd
These are the documents that the Governor-General signed off on
By Bridget Judd
Governor-General faces scrutiny as questions raised over why appointments weren't made public
In light of this week's developments, questions are being asked about the Governor-General's role, and why the appointments weren't made public.
Professor A J Brown is a board member of Transparency Australia, and says the Governor-General should have done more to ensure the government remained accountable.
"The Governor-General would have been perfectly entitled to say to the prime minister, 'Thank you prime minister, yes I'll accept your advice to swear you in as the minister of health, but I'd just like to check that the existing minister of health is actually aware of and understands how this will operate'," he says.
By Bridget Judd
Scott Morrison refuses to resign, calling secret appointments 'necessary emergency powers'
If you missed it amid the longer press conference earlier this afternoon, the former PM has rejected accusations that he deceived the Australian people.
"I believed it was necessary to have authority, to have what were effectively emergency powers, to exercise in extreme situations that would be unforeseen, that would enable me to enact in the national interest."
You can watch the full clip above.
By Bridget Judd
Albanese: 'Our democracy is precious, we need to defend it'
Speaking to reporters in Brisbane, the PM reiterated that the news of the secret ministry appointments only came to light through a political book.
"This came about because Scott Morrison was getting a biography written of him with a couple of journalists who published this on Saturday, and then bit by bit, information came out.
"And yesterday morning, yesterday morning, Scott Morrison on 2GB said he couldn't recall any additional appointments beyond the three that have been released.
"He couldn't remember the fact he had been appointed to administer the treasury portfolio? And the home affairs portfolio? I mean, give me a break."
Mr Albanese says democracy "cannot be taken for granted".
"Our democracy is precious. We need to defend it and strengthen it, not undermine it, which is what the former government has done."
By Bridget Judd
Albanese: 'I have no intention of undertaking any criticism of the Governor-General'
Pressed on the Governor-General David Hurley's role in the saga, Mr Albanese says he has "no intention of undertaking any criticism of the Governor-General".
"The Governor-General acted in accordance with the recommendations of the government of the day. The government of the day has to accept responsibility for this. And the people who were involved in it directly, have to accept responsibility."
By Bridget Judd
Solicitor-General providing advice on legal implications, which is expected on Monday
Mr Albanese says he has asked the Solicitor-General for an opinion, and "we will receive that advice, I'm advised, on Monday".
He says the question for Mr Morrison is: "What advice did he get from the Solicitor-General before he made these decisions?"
"We know that he made a request of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Prime Minister and Cabinet Department provided a brief for him to sign, he then signed off on a letter to the Governor-General, and the Governor-General made the appointments upon the recommendation of the government of the day."
By Bridget Judd
Albanese: 'How about an apology to the Australian people?'
The Prime Minister says Scott Morrison should apologise to the Australian public, and not just his colleagues.
"How about an apology to the Australian people? The Australian people went to an election not knowing that any of this had occurred," he says.
"Not knowing that there was a shadow government operating in darkness, without transparency.
"A clear misleading of the Parliament, whereby parliamentarians and ministers are held to account for areas in which they have responsibility."
By Bridget Judd
Albanese: 'It's one thing to have a shadow ministry, this was a shadow government'
Mr Albanese says he has written to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, asking for the documentation of appointments to be released in the public interest.
"Those documents have now been released. Why there wasn't any statement made at the time is incomprehensible to me," he says.
"This was a shadow government. It's one thing to have a shadow ministry, this was a shadow government."
By Bridget Judd
Albanese: 'The first rule of power grab club is don't talk about power grab club, and Scott Morrison broke that rule'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is speaking from Brisbane with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The update is centred around the city's Cross River Rail project, but as you can imagine, the PM is also being asked for his thoughts on Mr Morrison's press conference.
"The first rule of power grab club is don't talk about power grab club and Scott Morrison broke that rule today. Scott Morrison was passive aggressive and of course he was self-serving, so at least he was true to himself today," he says.
Mr Albanese accused the former PM of refusing to take responsibility during the press conference.
"He gave a press conference and said he made the conscious decision not to tell his cabinet colleagues.... that somehow he didn't want it to be misinterpreted, which is why he didn't tell anyone."
By Bridget Judd
Key moments from the press conference with Scott Morrison
There was a bit to digest there, so here are the key takeaways from the press conference with the former prime minister.
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Mr Morrison has rejected calls from within his own party to resign
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He said the fact that cabinet ministers did not know about his self-appointments was proof he had not interfered or intervened in other ministries, except in one instance
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He also said he did not lie when he said he could only recall giving himself powers to administer health, finance and resources yesterday
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He said it was expected of him to take charge of the pandemic response, and "there were gaps" in government process
You can catch up on the full wrap with ABC political reporter Jake Evans.
