David Hurley’s diary makes no mention of handing extra ministerial powers to Scott Morrison, and the governor general has been called on to explain if this omission was his own decision or a request from the then prime minister.
Morrison, while still prime minister, took on the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and industry, science, energy and resources portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021.
He has faced heavy criticism for secretly taking on the portfolios, in most cases without his colleagues’ knowledge, and some inside the Liberal party have called on him to resign.
But Morrison’s actions have also drawn in the governor general, who signed off on the appointments.
The governor general’s official program provides daily updates on the activities of Hurley and his wife, Linda.
Despite it making references to the swearing in of other ministers, and other meetings with Morrison, the four separate dates in which Hurley gave Morrison the additional powers contain no reference to that fact.
The Greens senator David Shoebridge said on Saturday that Hurley needed to clarify whether the decision not to disclose the appointments was his or Morrison’s.
“Something is deeply broken when the governor general tells the world that he has awarded a sash to a champion sheep dog but says nothing when he appoints the former prime minister to five new ministries,” Shoebridge said.
“A key question the governor general and former prime minister must answer is, was this repeated non-disclosure by the governor general part of a request or direction from Scott Morrison?
“Why did the governor general not disclose any of these constitutional appointments as part of his ‘constitutional activities’ in either of the 2020 or 2021 annual reports? Again, was this at the express request of the prime minister?”
The omission of the ministerial appointments from Hurley’s official program was first reported by the ABC.
It also reported the appointments were not included in the annual report of the office of the official secretary to the governor general, despite multiple references to swearing in other ministers.
Morrison was administratively appointed to the extra portfolios, without an in-person swearing-in ceremony.
The ABC noted: “The official secretary does not appear to be under any specific obligation to disclose these types of instruments in these annual reports. It also appears he has not done so previously with other forms of administrative appointments to ministerial offices in the past, and that the annual reports only disclose when swearing-in ceremonies have occurred.”
Shoebridge said “there is little argument that the governor general should include these critical constitutional activities in his annual reports, this is part of the obligations he held under annual public reporting rules”.
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Morrison was secretly appointed health minister on 14 March 2020 with the knowledge of the then-health minister Greg Hunt. There was no entry in Hurley’s program on this date.
The day after he notes presenting the Duke of Gloucester Sash at the 2020 National Sheep Dog Trial Championships in Canberra.
Entries on 30 March, when Morrison was given power as finance minister, refer to phone calls Hurley claims he received on 31 March from the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Dr James Renwick SC, and from other individuals to talk about the impact of Covid-19 and a regiment of the Army Reserve.
On 15 April 2021, when Morrison secretly co-opted powers of the industry, science, energy and resources portfolios, Hurley’s program says he spoke with the governor general of New Zealand, had a meeting of the federal executive council, and attended while people from the Royal Commonwealth Society signed a condolence book in memory of Prince Philip.
Morrison would later use the powers he received on this occasion to axe approval for a gas project off the coast of New South Wales, with the decision now before the courts due to the controversy. The former PM says this is the only time he used a power given to him under the secret arrangements.
It remains unclear whether Hurley mentioned the secret arrangements to the Queen, but he spoke to her between this date and the final occasion when he approved secret ministries for Morrison.
On 6 May 2021, when Morrison took the treasury and home affairs ministries with Hurley’s approval, the governor general says in his program that he attended two ceremonies where Order of Australia and bravery awards were handed out, met with the president of the RSL, and went to a dinner in the evening.
Hurley has said he acted within the constitution and it is for the government of the day to disclose ministerial appointments. A spokesperson said he “had no reason to believe that appointments would not be communicated”.
Morrison rejected calls for his resignation at a defiant press conference on Wednesday, defending his decision as necessary during the pandemic.
“I believed it was necessary to have authority, to have what were effectively emergency powers, to exercise in extreme situations that would be unforeseen, that would enable me to act in the national interests,” he said.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report.