Scott Morrison censure: How former PM is defending himself as House prepares to ... trends now

Scott Morrison censure: How former PM is defending himself as House prepares to ... trends now
Scott Morrison censure: How former PM is defending himself as House prepares to ... trends now

Scott Morrison censure: How former PM is defending himself as House prepares to ... trends now

Former prime minister Scott Morrison is being censured by the federal parliament for his decision to secretly take on additional ministerial portfolios - as he strenuously defended himself for his actions.

It is the first time the House has taken this action against a former prime minister - with Liberal and Nationals MPs walking out of the chamber rather than voting.

House leader Tony Burke moved the motion on Wednesday and said while censures were rare, they had their place in parliament.

'The court is the place to determine whether or not something was lawful, but in the parliament we determine whether or not something was appropriate,' he said.

'This is not some small matter. It goes to the absolute core of the principle of responsible government.'

Mr Morrison stood in the chamber to vigorously defend his actions. 

'I have no intention now of submitting to the political intimidation of this government, using its numbers in this place to impose its retribution on a political opponent,' he told the parliament.

Mr Morrison stood in the chamber to vigorously defend his actions as he became the first former prime minister to face a censure motion by the House of Representatives

Mr Morrison stood in the chamber to vigorously defend his actions as he became the first former prime minister to face a censure motion by the House of Representatives

'I repeat that I have welcomed and supported the recommendations of the Bell inquiry.

'For those who wish to add their judgement today on my actions in supporting this censure motion, I simply suggest that they stop and consider the following - have you ever had to deal with a crisis where the outlook was completely unknown?

'In such circumstances, were you able to get all the decisions perfectly right? And where you may have made errors, were you fortunate enough for them to have had no material impact on the result and the result itself proved to be world-leading?

'Once you have considered your own experience, or what happens when you have had more in government, then you may wish to cast the first stone in this place.'

'Once you have considered your own experience, or what happens when you have had more in government, then you may wish to cast the first stone in this place,' Mr Morrison told parliament

'Once you have considered your own experience, or what happens when you have had more in government, then you may wish to cast the first stone in this place,' Mr Morrison told parliament

Mr Burke said Mr Morrison had undermined, rejected, attacked and abused the standards expected of parliamentarians.

He said the former coalition government had attacked conventions and enabled the behaviour

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen