New South Wales Treasurer Matt Kean says he "disagrees" with the actions of former prime minister Scott Morrison and called for Australians to judge the Member for Cook at the ballot box.
Mr Kean was speaking on Q+A on Thursday night when audience member Rebecca Liu asked "how the Liberal party" could stand by the former PM, in the wake of him being censured in parliament for appointing himself to secret ministries during the pandemic.
Bridget Archer was the only Coalition MP to back the censure motion against Mr Morrison who — in 2020 and in 2021 — secretly had himself appointed to administer the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and industry, science, energy and resources ministries.
The censure does not affect Mr Morrison's role as Member for Cook nor on the backbench and he neglected to apologise for his actions when he spoke in parliament.
Mr Morrison also faces no legal ramifications.
Mr Kean took aim at the actions of Mr Morrison, who became just the second Australian prime minister to be censured, the first being Malcolm Fraser, who — unlike Mr Morrison — was in office at the time.
"I strongly disagree with [Mr Morrison] on what he did, with regard to assuming powers without telling the electors," Mr Kean said.
"Transparency and integrity is at the heart of our democracy.
"For people to have confidence in our system of government, our politicians and our political class need to be transparent with what we're doing and that's not what happened with Scott Morrison.
"The best way to deal with these issues is letting the public decide.
"The public decided to throw out the previous government, and I would say that the best way to judge Scott Morrison is at the ballot box."
Independent Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender said Mr Morrison had destroyed the public's confidence in democracy with his actions.
"I sat on the floor [of parliament] yesterday [during the aftermath censure motion] and I thought it was incredibly sad," Ms Spender said.
"Nothing is worse [than] to be censuring a prime minister for that sort of behaviour.
"I, 100 per cent, believe it was destroying trust in our democracy."
Ms Liu was asked if the responses made her feel better and she said they were rational but showed why Australia needed a federal ICAC, as "Scott Morrison just bears no consequences".
It was then that former Australian of the Year Grace Tame — who was also on the Q+A panel — reminded the audience of her disdain for the former PM as she quipped: "I censured him with my face."
While that comment brought laughter from the audience, ABC broadcaster Josh Szeps said the Liberal party were the ones who were bearing the brunt of the former PM's actions and, as he called it, "duplicity".
"I think the only reassurance that anyone can take is that there are political consequences, and his party is now a rump of its former self," Szeps said.
"So, you hope that his colleagues, in the future, will be a bit more discerning."
Olympian 'scared' of Voice referendum
The Indigenous Voice to Parliament is squarely on the agenda in the near future, however, former Labor senator, Olympian Nova Peris said she is fearful of a referendum on the issue.
Peris, who is Aboriginal, said Indigenous issues in Australia must be addressed as she cited incarceration rates and the Closing the Gap report.
"We've been crying out to be heard for so, so long," Peris said.
"I was floored by the Closing the Gap report: 22,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children a year are being taken off their parents.
"It's a big problem and it's a national shame how we're treated with the incarceration rates, the discrimination in so many systems … and it's not going to go away."
However, on the issue of the Voice being a referendum, Ms Peris said it brought up fears based on the history of referendums in Australia and, indeed, the history of the nation, that it might not succeed.
"I'm really scared about going to a referendum," she said.
"We've had eight successful [referenda] in 47, or however many, referendums.
"We saw what happened when we went to the public around marriage equality.
"But, for us, we want to be recognised — a lot of mob are calling out for treaties, the Yolngu mob have asserted their sovereignty.
"We want to make sure a Voice doesn't cede sovereignty."
Mbantua Arunta man Russell Bray then asked the panel what the power in the Voice is and whether it would achieve anything for those struggling?
Mr Kean said he felt it was "an opportunity to unite our country" before he lashed the National Party position of not supporting the Voice.
"I disagree with their position, he said.
"As Nova rightly said, it's an opportunity for us to recognise the atrocities and injustices that have occurred in the past, and an opportunity to recognise the entrenched discrimination and inequality that manifests itself still today.
"And [it's] an opportunity for us to move forward, together, to a positive future. That's the opportunity that the Voice gives us, and we should grab it with both hands."
Asked where the Voice "lands with First Nations people" by Q+A host Stan Grant, Ms Peris said the reaction was mixed but asked those opposed to consider the benefits of change.
"At the end of the day, I feel that … there is some sort of merit in this and, if we don't start doing something differently, nothing will change," she said.
"We've endured a lot of trauma in this country for a lot of years, and it's 2022, 2023 next year, and we've got to start doing a lot of things differently."
