Friday 25 November 2022 02:20 AM Anthony Albanese hammers Scott Morrison over secret ministries scandal as Bell ... trends now
Scott Morrison's decision to secretly take on extra ministerial portfolios has been labelled as corrosive of trust in government.
A report by former High Court judge Virginia Bell into the multiple ministries found the secrecy surrounding the appointments he took on as prime minister was 'apt to undermine public confidence in government'.
'Once the appointments became known, the secrecy with which they had been surrounded was corrosive of trust in government,' the report said.
'Given that the parliament was not informed of any of the appointments, it was unable to hold Mr Morrison to account in his capacity as minister administering any of these five departments.'
The actions of the former PM were 'extraordinary and unprecedented', Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra to release the report.
'They were wrong. A cabinet can't function when some members are complicit in secrecy. That is a characteristic of the Morrison government,' the prime minister said.
The actions of the former PM were 'extraordinary and unprecedented', Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference in Canberra to release the report into former PM Scott Morrison's appointment of himself to multiple cabinet positions
'I want to thank Justice Virginia Bell for the extraordinary work that her and her team have done with this report.'
Ms Bell recommended six changes to be made following the report, including implementing legislation requiring public notifications of the appointment of ministers.
She also recommended publishing details of which ministers were appointed to administer departments and outlining different responsibilities when more than one minister was appointed to the same department.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would recommend cabinet implement all six recommendations.
'The quick implementation of these recommendations will ensure that the Australian public can have full confidence that this breach of trust will never happen again,' he said.
'The unprecedented and inexcusable actions of the former prime minister were emblematic of the culture of
