Accordingly, Mr Morrison was validly appointed to administer on April 15, 2021.” “Nor is there any constitutional or legislative requirement for notification of such an appointment as a condition of its validity or for the minister to subscribe to another oath or affirmation following such an appointment. “The governor-general has no discretion to refuse to accept the prime minister’s advice in relation to such an appointment,” the solicitor-general wrote. Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue said Scott Morrison’s appointment to the industry and resources portfolio was valid but that the secrecy undermined responsible government.
In his legal advice, Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue noted he had “not been briefed with any information concerning whether the lack of any notification was the result of a direction from Mr Morrison, or for some other reason”. From his perspective, he operated according to taking the advice of the government of the day, which is consistent with the responsibility of the governor-general.Īsked whether the inquiry would investigate whether the governor-general instructed Morrison to make the appointments public, Albanese said – as a matter of protocol – conversations between the prime minister and governor-general are private.īut the PM added that Hurley had made it clear in his statements that he had no reason to think the appointments would not be made public.
The governor-general’s role has been examined here and the governor-general has made very clear statements. Pressed on whether a future inquiry will examine Hurley’s conduct, Albanese did not give a direct answer, saying: The report makes clear though that the governor-general acted upon the advice of the government of the day.