Australia: Government to Censure Former Prime Minister

Facts

• Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Monday that his cabinet agreed to introduce this week a censure motion on former PM Scott Morrison. This is due to findings that his actions to secretly swear himself into five portfolios undermined the principles of responsible government.
• This comes as the Albanese admin. endorsed all six recommendations of the inquiry carried out by former High Court judge Justice Virginia Bell into Morrison's secret appointments to administer five departments between Mar. 2020 and May 2021.
• The government also plans to propose new laws to implement the recommendations from the report later this week. The censure is expected to be moved by either House leader Tony Burke or Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.
• The motion is likely to be approved as Albanese's Labor party currently holds a majority in the House of Representatives and the Greens support "action being taken in the parliament against Scott Morrison." Liberal MP Bridget Archer is also considering her position regarding the action.
• The censure motion, which has no practical consequences other than to voice dissent, is expected to be debated on Tuesday. It was announced after Saturday's Victorian state election, in which the Liberal Party had a disappointing result.
• Opposition government services spokesman Paul Fletcher stated Monday that such a motion against would be highly unusual, deeming it a "political stunt" by the Labor government, while stating that they would support "sensible recommendations in the report."

Sources: Smh, Sky, Canberra Weekly, Guardian, Afr, and Aap.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Sky. There has been no investigation or report indicating that what former Prime Minister Morrison did was illegal or unconstitutional. This motion to censure is PM Albanese's political hit against an opposing politician. The Australian people would much rather see parliament's time and resources used for pressing issues impacting the people and not for political payback.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Abc. Former Prime Minister Morrison's actions were egregious and wrong for the people of Australia, arrogantly sidestepping the procedures of Parliament and treating the public's trust and opinion as an inconvenience. His secretive, Nixon-like power grab was unprecedented and selfish. The Albanese administration is taking action now to guarantee transparency and accountability and to renew and secure the public's trust in its leaders.

Predictions