Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised an investigation on Monday August 15 after revelations about his predecessor, Scott Morrison. The latter had secretly appointed himself to several ministerial portfolios during the pandemic.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Labour) accused the former Tory Prime Minister Scott Morrison of ” junk activities “. The latter would have appointed himself – when he was at the head of the government – Minister of Health, Finance and Resources, among other attributions, in parallel with the existing ministers, without informing his colleagues, Parliament or voters.
Describing the facts as ” extraordinary and unprecedented Mr. Albanese announced on Monday that he had sought legal advice. ” It’s a kind of junk activity that we would ridicule if it happened in an undemocratic country.Mr. Albanese said. Scott Morrison ran a shadow government. »
Opaque Nature of Scott Morrison’s Power
In some cases, Mr. Morrison appointed himself co-minister without telling the members of the government he had appointed to these positions, thus arrogating certain powers to himself. The scandal has shed light on the opaque nature of decision-making in the Australian government and raised questions about the need for stronger democratic safeguards.
It is still unclear how many posts Mr Morrison has given himself in this way, but local media reports that he has taken over the resources portfolio and used his power to put an end to a major gas project off Sydney, in New South Wales. Mr. Morrison’s Conservative coalition has lost the elections in Mayafter nearly a decade of centre-right government.
In Australia, elected officials are nominated by the Prime Minister before being sworn in by the Governor-General in an official ceremony which is usually publicly recorded. Constitutionalist Anne Twoney believes that these allegations could lead to legal challenges against certain decisions of the former government. ” The secrecy surrounding this case is simply bizarre. You wonder what’s wrong with these people, if they have to do everything in secret, she was indignant. It is totally inappropriate. We live in a democracy, which demands transparency. »
►Also read: Global warming: the Australian Prime Minister defends a record that is far from exemplary
(With AFP)