Ben Fordham jumps to Scott Morrison’s defence over ministry scandal
The Liberal Party leadership is urging the government to move on from the Scott Morrison secret jobs scandal and focus on the cost of living pressures facing Australians.
Deputy Leader Sussan Ley accused Anthony Albanese of doing his ‘old job of being opposition leader’ by focussing on the extraordinary revelations that his predecessor was secretly sworn in as minister of five departments in 2020 and 2021.
Leader Peter Dutton and former PM John Howard have also downplayed the saga, while broadcaster Ben Fordham has branded the outrage a ‘storm in a teacup’.
Scott Morrison gave himself power to administer five government departments during 2020 and 2021
‘The fact that this is featuring so heavily today is a really strong indictment of the focus and the priorities of Mr Albanese,’ Ms Ley told Sky News on Wednesday morning.
‘He came back from a week’s holiday, on day one he focused on his old job of being opposition leader.
‘Australians want him to focus on the issues in their lives, not the issues that he has in his.’
She added: ‘Out in the real-world people are not mentioning this issue but they are very concerned about their futures, about their employees and about the increasing and ever compressing squeeze associated with the cost-of-living increases.’
On Tuesday Mr Dutton said he would not be calling for Mr Morrison to resign. He said it was time for ‘cooler heads to prevail’ before adding: ‘The number one issue people are raising is cost of living.’
Deputy Leader Sussan Ley accused Anthony Albanese of doing his ‘old job of being opposition leader’ by focussing on the extraordinary revelations
Meanwhile, Fordham defended the ex prime minister’s decision to swear himself in as health minister and finance minister in at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
‘I can’t figure out what the big deal is here,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘The theory was- let’s have two brains and two sets of eyes looking over all these major decisions.
‘And it also meant – if the Health Minister contracted Covid and became severely ill, there was a back-up plan.’
‘Unusual? Yes. Unconstitutional? No. It’s a giant storm in a tiny teacup,’ he wrote.
But Fordham posted his view before the revelations that Mr Morrison had sworn himself in as treasurer and home affairs minister in May 2021, long after the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Fordham defended the ex prime minister’s decision to swear himself in as health minister and finance minister in at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020
Liberal MPs believe he wanted the power to overrule his ministers and make key decisions, just like when he overrode resources minister Keith Pitt to reject a gas project off the NSW Central Coast in December 2021.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil blasted anyone trying to play down Mr Morrison’s actions, claiming he endangered the nation.
‘I think anyone who is trying to play this down is doing an enormous disservice to our country right now,’ she said.
‘This is not some corruption scandal that I think Australians got used to seeing in the last nine years that the Liberals were in power, this is something incredibly serious.’
She said secretly having two home affairs ministers made the country ‘vulnerable’ because one person needs to make quick decisions to keep the nation safe such as during a terror attack.
The issue has divided the Liberal party, with Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin, Malcolm Turnbull and shadow home affairs minister Karen Andrews lining up to blast Mr Morrison.
The former Prime Minister has provoked widespread outrage after it emerged he gave himself the powers to act as health minister, finance minister, resources minister, home affairs minister and treasurer in 2020 and 2021.
Anthony Albanese said the move ‘trashed our democracy’ and has launched an investigation to find out if any laws were broken.
Liberal figures from Malcolm Turnbull to Peta Credlin have also blasted the former PM’s secretive power grabs.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said he was not aware of the decisions but would not be calling for Mr Morrison to resign.
He said it was time for ‘cooler heads to prevail’ before downplaying the issue by saying: ‘The number one issue people are raising is cost of living.’
Speaking in Canberra on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said his predecessor made a mockery of Australia’s Westminster system of government which is designed to ensure power does not reside with one person.
‘This has been government by deception,’ he said after receiving a briefing from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
‘Scott Morrison, and others who were involved in this, deliberately undermined those checks and balances that are so important and essential for our democracy.’
Mr Albanese does not believe Mr Morrison was paid extra for the roles.
The Prime Minister has received an internal briefing detailing which ministries Mr Morrison took control of during his time in power
