Scott Morrison embraces trolls amid minister furore and jokes he’s becoming a tree lopper
Scott Morrison has joked about taking up a new role as a tree lopper after facing a mountain of backlash for being the ‘minister for everything’.
The former prime minister was grilled this week after it emerged he secretly gave himself the powers to act as the minister for health, finance, resources, home affairs and as treasurer in 2020 and 2021.
Melbourne-based Jefford Tree Services has joined in on the pile-on, sharing a photo to their Facebook page on Thursday of an arborist working on a tree photoshopped to have Mr Morrison’s face.
‘WHAT! LOOK WHO JOINED THE TEAM!’ the company wrote.
‘Scott Morrison (ScoMo) just added Lead Climbing Arborist to his portfolio and started working for us without telling anyone!
‘Great to have you on board Scomo!’
Mr Morrison himself commented on the photo and chose to embrace the mockery.
‘I’ll let you know if I need any work done. What time do you need me for my first shift?’ he wrote.
Melbourne-based Jefford Tree Services joked Scott Morrison was now working as an arborist for their company
The former prime minister joined in on the joke, asking what time his first shift started
Mr Morrison has insisted that he acted ‘in good faith’ throughout the Covid pandemic and was doing what he thought was best for the nation.
But his critics have accused him of having a power trip and deceiving the Australian public – as well as parliamentary colleagues – by secretly taking on the extra ministerial portfolios.
Commentators across the political spectrum believe the saga has crushed his reputation.
The former prime minister was grilled this week after it emerged he secretly gave himself the powers to act as the minister for health, finance, resources, home affairs and as treasurer in 2020 and 2021
‘This will damage Scott Morrison’s legacy,’ said seasoned political commentator Paul Kelly of The Australian.
‘The whole thing is weird and just unnecessary… Scott Morrison can’t provide a persuasive argument as to why he did it.
‘All other ministers can conclude is Scott Morrison had a lack of confidence and trust in them.’
Mr Morrison insisted on Wednesday that Australians wouldn’t understand his power grab because they had never been prime minister.
He argued he was not acting like a dictator because he was democratically elected.
During his press conference in Sydney, Mr Morrison was asked why he had deceived Australians and his closest colleagues who were not told they were sharing their jobs with their boss.
‘I don’t share that view,’ he replied calmly.
The former PM insisted there was only one occasion where he used his extra powers – to block a gas exploration project off the NSW Central Coast in December 2021 which resources minister Keith Pitt wanted to approve.
‘Had I been in the situation where those powers had to be used, then I believe that was the time to have that conversation [with the ministers] because that’s when the powers would be enacted,’ he said.
‘The powers were established as an emergency power.’
Mr Morrison asked for privacy for his family after camera crews parked outside his south Sydney home on Tuesday
He denied acting like a dictator, saying: ‘The powers were put in place by an elected prime minister in accordance with the laws and constitution of this country.’
Mr Morrison – who said he was not paid extra for the secret roles – also asked for privacy for his family after camera crews parked outside his south Sydney home on Tuesday.
‘Members of my family have nothing to do with this,’ he said.
‘I would ask that you not invade the privacy of my family. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable request.’
Mr Morrison said the fact that neither ex-treasurer Josh Frydenberg nor ex-home affairs minister Karen Andrews knew he was sharing their portfolios was ‘proof’ that he did not intervene in those areas.
‘The non-exercising of these powers proves that they were handled responsibly, that they were not abused, that they were there in a reserve capacity to ensure the prime minister could act if that was necessary,’ he said.
Mr Morrison did not give any examples of situations where he would need to use the powers, saying they allowed him to make a quick decision in ‘extreme situations that would be unforeseen’.
He said he kept his moves secret from his ministers so as not to distract them from doing their jobs.
‘I didn’t disclose it to them because I didn’t think it was for the best operation of the government during a crisis,’ he said.
‘I think there was a great risk that in the midst of that crisis those powers could be misinterpreted and misunderstood, which would have caused unnecessary angst.’
The former prime minister has dismissed calls for him to resign as the MP for Cook and apologised to the ministers he offended by trampling on their authority.
He said he felt compelled to take on extra powers because he was getting blamed for everything that went wrong in Australia.
Despite refusing to resign as the MP for Cook, Mr Morrison has set up a new company called Triginta Pty Ltd and appointed himself director. Triginta means 30 in Latin and Mr Morrison was the 30th Prime Minister.