Deputy PM Richard Marles says whatever the legal advice from the solicitor general, former prime minister should pay the price for ‘flouting’ Westminster cabinet system
Scott Morrison should face “severe political consequences” for his secret multiple ministries, the deputy prime minister has said.
Richard Marles made the comments on Tuesday morning ahead of the release of the solicitor general’s legal advice which is expected to show Morrison’s actions were lawful but breached conventions of cabinet government. Marles suggested a further inquiry could consider Morrison’s actions and closing a loophole that allows ministers to be appointed to administer portfolios without public disclosure.Marles said it was clear “Morrison treated firstly the Australian people with complete contempt, by not making transparent the decisions he was taking in respect of who was running Australia at that point in time, but he’s treated his own colleagues with contempt”.
“As we go forward, whatever the legal advice, there needs to be some political consequence for a person who has flouted the, really, the Westminster cabinet system so completely,” he told ABC News Breakfast. Marles said the government “needs to hear from the opposition” and its leader, Peter Dutton, about what the political consequence should be, adding that it needs to be a “severe consequence”.