Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been reprimanded by the country’s parliament for granting secret powers while in office.
The historic move follows a damning report that said his actions were “eroding confidence in the government”.
This is the first time that a former Prime Minister has been condemned by the House of Representatives.
Mr Morrison has defended his appointments to several ministries, calling the condemnation “revenge” by opponents.
It emerged in August that Mr Morrison had been joint minister for health, finance, finance, home affairs and resources for two years before losing power in May.
Most ministers were unaware they were sharing portfolios with Mr Morrison and he has been widely criticized, including by close colleagues.
Mr Morrison – now a backbench MP – has said the decisions were made amid “extraordinary times” during the pandemic.
An investigation found that his appointment was legal, and that he used his additional powers only once – to overrule a minister in a matter unrelated to the pandemic.
But he described Mr Morrison’s responsible government as “fundamentally weak”. Another inquiry found that most of his appointments were “if anything related to the pandemic”.
The Albanian government has already promised new laws that would require any similar appointments to be made public in the future.
But Mr Albani said parliament also had a duty to condemn the actions of its predecessor.
They put Australia on a “slippery slope” away from a “precious” democracy, he said on Wednesday.
“The public did not know anything it had a right to know … which undermined the functioning of this Parliament, which undermined our democratic institutions.”
Mr Morrison told parliament he believed his decisions were “unnecessary” and had been “insufficiently considered”.
“None of us can claim to be innocent in situations like this, and I don’t,” he said.
But he stopped short of apologizing, arguing that the reprimand was about “political intimidation” and “revenge”.
Most of his centre-right coalition colleagues supported the view, but one MP, Bridget Archer, said she did not accept Mr Morrison’s explanation for his actions and supported the condemnation.
“And I’m very disappointed by the lack of genuine apologies, or more importantly, the lack of understanding of the implications of these decisions,” he told parliament.
Former Home Secretary Karen Andrews – one of the colleagues who unwittingly shared a portfolio with Mr Morrison – also abstained from the vote.
A censure is a way for a member of parliament to formally express disapproval. Such moves are rare and largely symbolic, but they can have political consequences.
