by GARRY BURKE – SCOTT Morrison may prove to be the most damaging leader the once-conservative Liberal Party has ever had.
He has steam-rolled constitutional norms in both the nation and the NSW Liberal Party. And he has weakened the argument on which Australia staying a Constitutional Monarchy is based.
- Are we expected to believe there’s nothing unusual or sinister about Scott Morrison’s co-ministerships?
- He has form in the dark art of secret political manoeuvring.
- In so doing Morrison has weakened the argument on which Australia staying a Constitutional Monarchy is based.
His most unusual act was secretly appointing himself as joint minister for five portfolios “because of the pandemic” and his belief that he and only he could be trusted to always make the right decisions.
While not illegal according to constitutional experts, it was totally outside the norms of Westminster-style government.
GRABBED
He grabbed power for himself in five key portfolios so secretly that he did not even advise all the ministers concerned that they were only joint-ministers.
His argument that he needed to do this because of the COVID pandemic simply does not hold water.
As Prime Minister, he had the power to dismiss any minister who did not toe the Party line.
He has failed to explain satisfactorily why he grabbed even more power than our system bestows on a prime minister.
The fact that government departmental heads were not aware of it brings up the issue of whether they acted illegally by not briefing their minister(s) as required by law.
Scott Morrison has form in the dark art of secret political manoeuvring to manipulate the system closer to his heart’s desire.
Take his pre-selection in the Cook electorate in Sydney in 2006. Morrison overwhelmingly lost the vote to Michael Towke.
Towke was then defamed and dumped before a second ballot was called with a greatly-reduced number of electors. Lo and behold, Morrison won.
Take the allegation in the Press that Morrison and faction-leader Alex Hawke sidestepped the NSW Liberal Party’s constitutional requirement for a plebiscite of Party members to pre-select candidates for the 2022 Federal Election.
Hawke, as the prime minister’s representative on the NSW committee charged with organising plebiscites, repeatedly failed to attend meetings thus delaying the ballots.
This plebiscite process had been fought for by grassroots members in the form of the Warringah Motion. Its intention was to remove the control that factional chiefs and lobbyists had gained over the NSW Liberal Party.
The Press alleged Hawke and Morrison held this line until the last moment before organising a temporary federal intervention of the NSW Division, parachuting in nine of their “factionally acceptable” allies. It should be noted that Hawke denied this allegation.
CHALLENGED
The move was challenged legally but the courts decided they did not have the power to rule on the procedure but that it was probably legal. And the man who challenged it was kicked out of the Liberal Party.
And amid all this, we are expected to believe there was nothing unusual or sinister about Morrison becoming secret co-minister for five portfolios.
The next consequence of his action may well be the most damaging.
Australia is divided about whether to become a constitutional republic or remain a constitutional monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth’s reign is nearing its end and her successor has a somewhat blemished past – serial adultery and accepting huge donations for the Prince’s Trust from Middle Eastern characters of the ilk of the Bin Laden family.
Supporters of a republic can and have argued that Australia does not need an Englishman to be its head of state and particularly not this one – that it is time for a change.
While their argument is not without merit, there is one unassailable argument the pro-monarchists have: the present system works.
It has served Australia brilliantly since 1901. In the one constitutional crisis we have had when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam decided to rule illegally without “supply”, the Governor-General exercised his reserve power to call an election. Problem solved.
Studies world-wide have shown that monarchies are less corrupt, wealthier and safer than republics where politicians or their cronies become heads of state.
Australians depend on our head of state to be above politics.
While accepting that the Governor-General is “advised” by the government, we believe he is our safeguard against illegal or “unusual” government action and is above the political fray.
Governor-General David Hurley’s actions have put considerable doubt over this.
We might never know whether he cautioned Morrison about keeping his “power grab” secret.
But if he did not, he should have. If Morrison ignored him, Hurley could have quietly publicised it in the Vice-Regal Diary notes published daily.
Further, the Governor-General involved himself in politics by announcing to the press that there was nothing illegal in Morrison’s actions and that it happens all the time.
Apart from the fact that no-one else has ever heard of such action before, this was a defence of Morrison and, thus, an example of the Governor-General involving himself in politics.
Perhaps we should not be surprised – given that only weeks before the Governor-General allowed pictures of himself to be used endorsing a kitchen company that had worked on his personal property. That was a pretty serious lapse of judgement too.
COMMITTED
It matters greatly because Prime Minister Albanese is a committed republican and has promised to hold a new referendum on the matter. He will fight hard for it.
Meanwhile, Morrison and the Governor-General have weakened the one unassailable argument in support of a constitutional monarchy.
The question of whether Morrison should lose his seat in parliament is now being canvassed.
Politicians such as Peter Dutton and John Howard have opposed this, fearing the Opposition could lose yet another seat in a by-election.
They seem to have missed the point that sacking Morrison would gain for the Liberal Party a degree of honour and respect that it has lost.
And after the May election result, what would one less seat matter to a Party that seems destined to be on the Opposition benches for at least the next two terms? At least it would recover a modicum of respect.
There are a lot of Australians with conservative political views. Tony Abbotts’ convincing victory proved that they are there.
Clearly, they have not felt that the Liberal Party in its present clothes represents their ideology. They could not bring themselves to vote Labor so they embraced the Teals in overwhelming numbers.
The prevailing view among rank and file Party members – the True Blue set – is that they are being asked to Turn Up, Pay Up and Shut Up.
The NSW Liberal Party Secretariat closely guards the secret of Party membership but one insider estimates that the number of financial members is down to about 8500 from a peak of 15,000.
Denying them the hard-won NSW Liberal Party constitutional right to choose their local candidates cost Morrison dearly at the last election.
It was a clear statement by the then Prime Minister that the Party belongs to the politicians and the factional bosses, not the members.
DISAGREED
The members disagreed using the only option open to them – and now Tony Albanese is in the Lodge.
Of much lesser importance has been the way The Australian newspaper has failed its readers and the concept of journalistic ethics.
Its political editor Simon Benson and its chief political writer Geoff Chambers learned of Morrison’s secret in the course of their work but decided to release it only sometime later in their book Plagued. Just when they learned of it, we do not know.
Sitting on stories of this importance is not in the journalistic ethics playbook and requires some explanation from The Australian if it is going to maintain the respect of its subscribers.PC
Anybody who falls for Albo’s smokescreen to hide his own nefarious activities isn’t taking notice.
(Cancelling the CFMEU watchdog, breaking pre-election promises – big time, making actual false election promises (we used to call them lies).
C’mon people wake up – Labor PMs and Premiers have distracted us from their own social engineering – never mentioned before elections – since Adam was a boy. And they have the same pattern – dig up some dirt on their predecessor and go for broke.
Same pattern from Chifley to Whitlam to Hawke to Keating to Rudd to Gillard to Chairman Dan and still happening in Qld.
Got the pattern? Act like the opposition when they assume government and distract everybody from their master-plan.
They even chuckle when we turn on our own from all their beat-ups.
Beat-ups?
Phil Smiles – paid his baby sitter.
A former Qld premier claimed travel allowance and spent 6 months in gaol – badgered by the new government.
Barry – accepted a bottle of wine.
Scott – did his best in the midst of bureaucratic and journalistic panic-mongering.
Anastasia and her predecessor – allowing the Qld rain-forrest to be decimated at a faster rate than Brazil. (Who’s paying whom multi millions for that privilege)?
Cubby Dam? Same question.
Check every state.
Start asking questions of others. Plenty of natural enemies will put the boot into us.
Please.
Even Turnbull supported Democratic Reform in a big way. Morrison was one of its greatest enemies – meaning that he hates our rank and file members – the lifeblood of the party – it’s personal for me, F him..
The Liberal party is finished.
Sniffing more influence that their tiny numbers warrant, Pentecostal branch stackers took over the party and have dragged it to the lunatic religious right. It is now far, far away from the sensible centre, where compulsory voting ensures Australian elections are won.
The parasites have killed their host.
Doing Labor’s job for them ? Berating Morrison and ignoring what he achieved is like shooting yourself in the foot. Morrison showed how smart he is by recently saying a Royal Commision should be into ‘Covid and the effect on the Australian People’ – that’s what is far more important. The most dangerous situation is the current mess of a Government with Albo/Greens/Teals deciding the future of our Nation – Jesus wept.
Morrison was a confused idiot. He ran with the foxes and shot the hounds. The author is correct. Morrison’s legacy is a dumpster fire.
“Berating Morrison and ignoring what he achieved is like shooting yourself in the foot.”
…and what Morrison has done is like shooting democracy in the head.
“Doing Labor’s job for them ?”
Considering the egregiousness of Morrison’s foolish and arrogant act, all that Labor had to do was order copious amounts of popcorn and try their best not to laugh too hard.
“Morrison showed how smart he is […]”
I’m sorry to have to break the news to you, but Morrison has the IQ of a gnat.
With grovelling apologists such as yourself standing up for the “Liberal” party, it’s no wonder that they are in such dire straits – it’s clear that members end up with the party that they deserve.
“[Morrison] grabbed power for himself in five key portfolios so secretly that he did not even advise all the ministers concerned that they were only joint-ministers.”
The first thing that I thought of when I heard of Morrison’s bizarre behaviour was Germany’s 1933 “Enabling Act”. The full name of the act was the “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich” – the German people were “distressed”, just as the Australian people were said to be during Covid-19.
Who is Gary Burke? What a diatribe. Pushing the Labor Australian Republic.
Outstanding article by Garry Burke.
I never cease to be impressed with Labor’s media management spin doctor team twisting the facts and creating diversions by smearing their political opponents, with the left leaning media assisting and useful fools believers spreading the gossip.
And I am painfully aware of the disloyalty within party ranks, worst of all parliamentary where hanging dirty washing out in public instead of inside the party rooms has become more irresponsible than ever.
Contrary to the Labor BS there was no secret cabinet of ministers, there were not two ministers for each of the portfolios, the PM was sworn in to be in a back up role if that became necessary. No law was broken and the Constitution does not require only one cabinet minister be sworn in for any or all positions.
And there is a Prime Minister subject to constitutional laws of course.
I understand that the pandemic crisis front line members of cabinet were under considerable pressure and workloads.
Hey John, just for giggles, can you tell us again that it is ‘NOT BROKEN’?
Go on mate, ignore the politicial collusion and the shredding of the crown’s legitimacy.
Give that lame, worn out, discredited old line one last whirl, can ya?
And if you’re really up for it, can you also squeal about the ‘POLITICIANS REPUBLIC’.
Go on lad.
“No law was broken and the Constitution does not require only one cabinet minister be sworn in for any or all positions.”
Perhaps you could explain to us why, if it was all above board, it had to be done in secret? (Personally I prefer governments that serve me to act in a transparent and open manner, since that is an underpinning of democracy – and since the politicians in those governments are my employees, who are paid by me and who answer to me).
We were told the immense powers of the crown would protect our democracy.
But those powers have become totally illegitimate, because both the monarch and her appointed representative are unelected and unaccountable.
So politicians abuse the powers, and get away with it, while the crown whimpers it’s not their fault because they must do as they are told by politicians.
Such is life in the Politician’s Monarchy.
Noel you really need to seek advice instead of making stuff up.