Eva Deschamps / August 17, 2022
He will not throw in the towel. The former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison assumed on Wednesday, with confused explanations, that he had secretly granted himself five ministerial portfolios during the pandemic period.
In a lengthy, agitated and sometimes heated press conference, Mr. Morrison rejected calls for his resignation from Parliament.
He faced a barrage of questions about why he did not inform the public - or even many of his fellow ministers - that he was giving himself additional powers.
We had to take extraordinary measures to put safeguards in place, he said, confusingly explaining that he had ensured the continuity of government in the event that a minister was unavailable.
Mr. Morrison said he had used these powers only once, to override his Resources Minister and block a controversial offshore gas project. He said the decision was unrelated to Covid-19.
The former Conservative prime minister added that he had received no personal benefit from being appointed to these various ministerial positions.
Scott Morrison had secretly appointed himself to five ministerial positions starting in March 2020, including Health, Finance and Resources, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in recent days.
The scandal has shed light on the opaque nature of decision-making in the Australian government and raised questions about the need for stronger democratic safeguards.
In Australia, the Prime Minister selects members of his government from among elected officials who are then sworn in by the Governor-General in a formal ceremony that is usually public and recorded.