Former Australian PM Morrison took on extra powers in secret

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday accused his predecessor Scott Morrison of “trashing democracy” after revealing that while Morrison was in power, he took on five ministerial roles without the knowledge of most other lawmakers or the public.

Albanese said Morrison had been operating in secret, keeping the Australian people in the dark and misleading Parliament over who was in charge of what portfolios.

“This has been government by deception,” Albanese said.

Adding to revelations first detailed over the weekend by News Corp. media, Albanese said that between March 2020 and May 2021, Morrison was appointed minister of health, finance, home affairs, treasury and industry — moves which appeared to have given Morrison equal powers to the ministers already appointed to those positions.

“It is completely extraordinary that these appointments were kept secret by the Morrison government from the Australian people,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB, Morrison defended taking on the extra portfolios, saying they were a safeguard during the coronavirus pandemic and that he would have made the appointments public had he needed to use the powers involved.

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