CRIKEY!

Australians Fume After Ex-PM Secretly Gave Himself Five Jobs While in Office

Scott Morrison is now facing calls to resign from parliament.

You would have thought you’d have enough on your plate as the prime minister of one of the world’s largest countries. But for Australia’s former leader, Scott Morrison, it seems he thought he’d take on some extra responsibilities—in secret. The Liberal party politician is now facing calls to resign from parliament after it emerged that he appointed himself to portfolios in addition to that of prime minister. He gave himself responsibility for the nation’s health, finance, industry, science, energy and resources, home affairs, and treasury portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021. All of these self-appointments were made without the public’s knowledge and allegedly, in some cases, without informing the relevant minister. Incumbent Aussie Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Morrison’s actions as an “unprecedented trashing of the Westminster system.” Morrison apologized to his former ministerial colleagues for the appointments, explaining he took the decisions he had “as a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ safeguard” during the pandemic.