The nation's second highest law officer has released advice as to the legal implications of Scott Morrison's unusual ministerial arrangement.
Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments were legal, according to the Commonwealth solicitor-general - but they were not consistent with "responsible government."following revelations Mr Morrison was secretly sworn into five different portfolios during 2020 and 2021.
"The undermining of responsible government therefore does not depend on the extent to which Mr Morrison exercised powers under legislation administered by DISER, because from the moment of his appointment he was both legally and politically responsible for the administration of that department, and yet he could not be held accountable for the way that he performed that role."
"I note that the Solicitor General found that the appointments were ‘valid’ and that ‘while there is some historical precedent for the publication in the Gazette of appointments to administer particular departments of State under s 64, there is no consistent practice in that regard," he wrote. Mr Albanese said the advice laid out "a very clear criticism and critique of the implications ... for our democratic system of government".
He said there were more questions to be answered with the impact on contracts and other agencies to be considered."There are other potentials as well, the former prime minister for example was the health minister and the industry minister at a time when we were considering the mRNA vaccine manufacture in Australia," he said.
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