Greens leader Adam Bandt calling for Scott Morrison to be punished by Parliament

Scott Morrison could face questioning by a powerful parliamentary committee over his secret appointment to additional ministerial portfolios.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has written to House Speaker Milton Dick requesting the matter be referred to the privileges committee to investigate whether there had been a breach or contempt of parliament.

The committee would assess whether the former prime minister deliberately misled the lower house, Mr Bandt said.

Mr Morrison secretly appointed himself to the finance, treasury, health, home affairs and resources portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021.

‘Scott Morrison’s contempt for the Australian people may also be a contempt of parliament … I want him held accountable,’ Mr Bandt said in a statement.

The Greens leader has urged the Speaker to consider his request as a matter of urgency.

Meanwhile, former senior cabinet minister Bridget McKenzie says the former prime minister breached the Liberal-National coalition agreement by keeping his ministerial appointments secret.

The Nationals senator said Mr Morrison’s decision showed ‘complete disrespect’ for her party.

‘Our coalition arrangements are a negotiated outcome and they include a ratio of cabinet portfolios in a coalition government,’ she told ABC Radio on Thursday.

‘By essentially removing the authority of one of those ministers and giving it to a Liberal minister … (he) breached the coalition agreement.

‘It showed complete disrespect for the second party of government … the National Party would not have agreed with having one of its ministers removed.’

The former leader phoned his former ministerial colleague Karen Andrews on Thursday morning to apologise, AAP understands.

Mr Morrison had previously personally apologised to former treasurer Josh Frydenberg and former finance minister Mathias Cormann for keeping his appointments to their portfolios secret, but not to Ms Andrews.

But Mr Morrison also owes an apology to the Australian public, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

‘It’s the Australian people who were kept completely in the dark with his shadow government operating, it’s the Australian people who have had their democracy undermined by the activities of the former coalition government,’ he told reporters on Thursday.

Ms Andrews was the first Liberal to call for the former prime minister to resign from parliament, after he told media on Wednesday he took over the five portfolios in secret in the national interest.

She said she did not understand the need for the secrecy around the appointments.

‘Transparency is incredibly important,’ Ms Andrews told Sky News.

‘If you put in place contingencies, that’s a good thing … but they needed to be done in a matter of good governance.’

Mr Dutton said he would have told Mr Morrison it was ‘inappropriate for him to be assuming these powers’ had he been consulted at the time.

‘Most people want to move on and start dealing with issues that are more important, the rising cost of living,’ he said.

‘He’s apologised for it, he’s no longer occupying the office and there’s not much more you can continue to trail over it.’

Mr Morrison said he kept the roles confidential as he did not want to ‘undermine the confidence of ministers in the performance of their duties’.

He said he only used the extra powers once, to block a gas drilling project off the NSW coast.

That decision, made in 2021, is the subject of a Federal Court appeal.

Nationals MP Keith Pitt held the resources portfolio at the time.

Mr Albanese is seeking advice from the solicitor-general on whether his predecessor’s actions have legal implications.