Scott Morrison ministerial positions controversy

An inquiry conducted by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell recommended legislative changes to prevent such a consolidation of decision-making occurring in the future.

As a change in the responsibilities of an existing minister, this had not required further swearing-in but had been done by an "administrative instrument"; announcement of the appointments had been a matter for the government.

Leading members of the Morrison cabinet, Mathias Cormann and Peter Dutton (then Minister for Defence and current Leader of the Opposition), said that they had not been aware of these appointments.

[10][11] Morrison initially declined to comment but later phoned radio station 2GB to say that these three appointments had been "extraordinary measures" as "safeguards" during the COVID pandemic.

When asked if he had held any more ministerial positions, Morrison stated that there were none to his "recollection", despite there being two additional appointments still not disclosed to the public at that time.

The report, released on 23 August, advised that this appointment was lawful, but that its secrecy "fundamentally undermined" the principles of responsible government.

[14][15] Anthony Albanese announced an inquiry into Scott Morrison's ministerial positions, led by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell.

Alternatively, it is claimed that, if there was duplication, the decision was "legally unreasonable" since Andrews and her advisors were unaware of the possibility of referring it to Morrison.