ScoMo is legally all clear over jobs

SCOTT Morrison didn’t break the law with his ministerial power grab but his secrecy “fundamentally undermined” the principles of a responsible government, the Solicitor-General has found.

The legal advice prepared by Dr Stephen Donaghue QC into the former prime minister’s jobs scandal was publicly released on Tuesday morning.

Mr Morrison secretly appointed himself as the joint minister in the health, finance, treasury, home affairs, and industry, science, energy and resources portfolios over a period of two years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Australian people, the parliament and most of Mr Morrison’s cabinet colleagues were left in the dark.

Anthony Albanese last week asked Dr Donaghue to prepare the advice after the revelations were reported.

Dr Donaghue specifically examined Mr Morrison’s appointment to the industry, science, energy and resources portfolio.

He said he considered that his appointment was valid.

But Mr Morrison’s failure to alert the relevant ministers, the parliament or the public was inconsistent “with the principle of responsible government that is inherent in Ch II of the Constitution”.

Dr Donaghue said the undermining of responsible government didn’t depend on the extent to which Mr Morrison exercised his powers in the portfolio.

This is because Mr Morrison was both legally and politically responsible for the department’s administration and yet couldn’t be held accountable for the way he fulfilled that role.

Mr Morrison used his powers over the resources portfolio to overrule then minister Keith Pitt and block the controversial PEP-11 gas exploration project off the NSW coast in politically under-threat electorates.

Mr Morrison has claimed this was the only time he used his additional powers as a joint minister.

The advice from the Solicitor-General clears Governor-General David Hurley for his role in the affair.

Federal cabinet has agreed to hold a further inquiry into Mr Morrison’s actions after meeting on Tuesday morning to review the Solicitor-General’s report.

Mr Albanese said he wanted it to be a “quite expeditious inquiry” conducted independently by an “eminent person with a legal background”.

“I don’t want this to drag on. I want to get conclusions and then act on them,” he said at Parliament House on Tuesday.

“This isn’t something that can be just dismissed.

“This is something that goes to our very system of government, which the Solicitor-General’s advice makes clear.”

Mr Albanese said the inquiry would consider whether there were any other legal issues raised by Mr Morrison’s actions. It would also look at future reform and make recommendations to “ensure that this doesn’t happen in the future”. “I can’t envisage that the government would not act on all of the recommendations which are made,” he said.

Mr Albanese said the Morrison government had “thrown out” the usual checks and balances the Westminster system imposes on Australia’s parliament.