What does it take for former prime minister Scott Morrison to leave parliament?
Having a former PM languishing on the backbench is never a great look, regardless of their previous actions or how they came to lose the top job.
But in this case, Morrison’s presence is utterly insulting. He has gaslit Australia for years and looks set to continue to do so from his privileged position of power, status, and access to parliamentary privilege.
He’s been found to have lied to Australians over and over again. He’s been found to have lied to his party and even his ministers. He lied to world leaders.
Now the Royal Commission’s report into the disastrous Robodebt scheme that had tragic consequences for thousands of Australians has found that Morrison gave “untrue” evidence to the commission and also misled Cabinet on the legality of the scheme.
How can he possibly stay in parliament with these findings and everything else that has emerged over the previous year now publicly known? How can anyone in the Liberal Party, especially current leader Peter Dutton, defend his presence and Morrison’s choice in determining when he leaves?
Morrison was in Italy on Friday as the Commission was handing over its findings — with international trips being a trend in his current term in parliament as a backbencher, just as they were in his first terms as prime minister.
He missed his first day in the new parliament, travelling to Japan to give a speech instead. He has given numerous speeches since his defeat at the 2022 Federal Election, even at one point suggesting governments are a waste of time, claiming that god’s got future plans for him. The speaking agency representing Morrison exclusively pushed his skills on “controlling natural disasters” and being a “virtuous globalization mastermind.” Morrison is supposed to be representing the people of Cook, and receives a salary for doing so.
Morrison was a prime minister who publicly declared that he didn’t believe in legacy, which should have been the ultimate red flag, as any legitimate leader should consider what they will leave behind. In an interview in the months before the election, he rejected the idea of legacy to describe himself as a “doer” who is “very mission, task focused”.
And yet here in 2023, as he looks determined to stay in parliament, the legacy of his ego appears to be a top priority. There is a strong belief he’ll stay because of the Commission’s findings, hoping to avoid a ‘legacy’ of being forced out in disgrace and leveraging his position to access parliamentary privilege defence.
As former Liberal leader John Hewson tweeted over the weekend, “Robodebt is a case where Morrison clearly did “hold a hose”. Hewson said the LNP should demand that he resigns from parliament.
While Morrison has rejected the findings of the Commission, he has not yet declared whether or not he received notification of being named in the report’s sealed section, where Commissioner Catherine Holmes says she referred several people for civil and criminal prosecutions over their involvement in the scheme. Other ministers mentioned extensively in the full public report, Stuart Robert and Alan Tudge, have publicly said they have not received such notification.
When Morrison addressed a church in Perth last year, he told the congregation that they should trust in god over governments, and god again over anything like the United Nations.
Morrison doesn’t believe in government. He appears to only believe in ego, his status, and his special connection to god. He should have left this current parliament in 2022. But if he doesn’t declare his exit now, the Liberal Party must find every opportunity to make it happen.