The ‘more dodgy’ aspect of Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial powers

It’s been revealed Scott Morrison appointed himself as the joint minister of three portfolios while he was prime minister.

Mr Morrison was secretly sworn in as co-minister of health, finance and later resources.

Former health minister Greg Hunt knew about Mr Morrison’s swearing in as co-minister of his portfolio, but Mathias Cormann, who was finance minister, and Keith Pitt, who was resources minister, did not know they were no longer the only ministers of their portfolios.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is investigating the legality of the move.

Chief political reporter at the Australian Financial Review, Phillip Coorey, says in the case of the health and finance portfolios, which Mr Morrison appointed himself to at the height of the pandemic, the move was “a back-up measure”.

“It was a back up exercise in case one of those blokes caught COVID and was incapacitated or worse. You can sort of understand it now, but what you can’t understand is why they never told us,” he told Ross and Russel.

But Mr Coorey says the former-prime minister’s swearing in as resources minister was a “more dodgy use of these powers”.

Mr Morrison intervened to kill off a gas exploration project off the New South Wales coast, which then-resources minister, Keith Pitt, wanted to approve.

Press PLAY below to hear how the events unfolded

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