Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday accused the former head of government of having granted himself several ministerial posts during the period of the pandemic.
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He responds to the charges. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison assumed on Wednesday August 17, with confused explanations, having secretly granted himself five ministerial portfolios during the period of the pandemic, during a press conference, rejecting at the same time calls for his resignation from Parliament.
Scott Morrison has faced an onslaught of questions over why he hasn’t told the public, or even several of his fellow ministers, that he is giving himself additional powers. “We had to take extraordinary measures to put safeguards in place”he justified himself, explaining that he had ensured the continuity of government in the event that a minister was unavailable.
The former Tory Prime Minister said he used those powers just once, to override his resources minister and block a controversial offshore gas project, while pointing out that the move was unrelated to the Covid-19. He added that he only fired “no personal benefit” for having appointed himself to these various ministerial posts.
Scott Morrison had appointed himself since March 2020 to five ministerial posts, including those of Health, Finance and Resources, said current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in recent days. Scott Morrison’s Conservative coalition lost the election in May after nearly a decade of centre-right rule.
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