The preselection process was controversial and included the unwilling withdrawal of the incumbent ALP MP Charles Griffiths and intervention from the federal executive to overturn three previous ballots.

[6] Morris was appointed as the ALP spokesman on transport in 1976, holding that role under opposition leaders Gough Whitlam, Bill Hayden, and Bob Hawke.

[7] In 1983, Canberra Times columnist Ian Warden wrote that "in opposition he was quite wild and intractable, regularly bouncing to his feet and exploding with righteous indignation".

After leaving the ministry, Morris served as chairman of the House Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure from 1990 to 1996.

In 2001, he published a report which concluded that modern slavery and other exploitative practices were rife among developing countries' shipping industries.