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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Butler

Secret ministries: what the legal advice means for Scott Morrison and Australia’s parliament

Scott Morrison Anthony Albanese Melissa Donnelly
Former prime minister and federal Member for Cook Scott Morrison speaks to media during a press conference in Sydney
The solicitor general says Scott Morrison’s appointment to the resources portfolio was legal, but was ‘inconsistent with the conventions and practices that form an essential part of the system of responsible government’. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP

Scott Morrison’s secret self-appointment to five extra portfolios was legally valid, according to the solicitor general, Stephen Donaghue QC. But Tuesday’s legal advice accused the former prime minister of “undermining responsible government”.

Donaghue’s eagerly-anticipated advice did not implicate Morrison in any legal wrongdoing but the report was scathing of the attitude to government conventions, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has flagged a further inquiry into who else knew and whether there are further legal implications.

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