Australia will make posts public in order to avoid another power grab

Australia will make posts public in order to avoid another power grab

An inquiry into a former Australian PM, Scott Morrison secretly assigning himself to numerous ministries advised on Friday that any similar appointments in the future be made public in order to preserve trust in government.

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister said he would recommend his Cabinet accept all of the retired judge’s recommendations at a meeting next week.

Albanese ordered the investigation in August following revelations that his predecessor, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, had appointed himself to five ministerial positions between March 2020 and May 2021, usually without the knowledge of the current minister.

Morrison’s conservative coalition was voted out of office in May after nine years in power, exposing the extraordinary power grab. His unusual measures are considered part of a broader trend in Australian politics to centralize authority inside the office of the prime minister, at the expense of the British Westminster tradition of delegating responsibilities among ministers.