10th Feb 2020, 8:09 PM – Senate Motions - Morrison Government - Ministerial Standards

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by NSW Senator Tim Ayres (Labor) and ACT Senator Katy Gallagher (Labor). It criticised the Morrison Government in terms of its adherence to ministerial standards. While motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own, they are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes the Morrison Government's consistent failure in 2019 and 2020 to uphold its own Statement of Ministerial Standards or to be an open, transparent and accountable government in line with the expectations of the Australian community on matters, including:

(i) Prime Minister Morrison's failure to act for over a fortnight on the Auditor-General's scathing report into the Community Sports Infrastructure program, overseen by former Minister McKenzie,

(ii) Prime Minister Morrison's failure to release his former political chief of staffs advice on Minister McKenzie's breach of the Ministerial Standards,

(iii) the cloud hanging over former Minister Canavan following his failure to declare a potential conflict of interest in his portfolio,

(iv) Prime Minister Morrison's failure to explain the ongoing criminal investigation by New South Wales Police, encompassing the use of the fraudulent document by Minister Taylor, referred to the Australian Federal Police in December 2019,

(v) Prime Minister Morrison's inappropriate contact with the New South Wales Police Commissioner regarding a criminal investigation into a member of his Cabinet, the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Mr Taylor,

(vi) Prime Minister Morrison's refusal to confirm whether he invited the head of the Hillsong Church, Pastor Brian Houston, to a state dinner in Washington DC,

(vii) Prime Minister Morrison's refusal to uphold his own ministerial standards for former Ministers Pyne and Bishop,

(viii) Prime Minister Morrison's refusal to require Ms Gladys Liu, MP, to make a full and frank statement to the Parliament,

(ix) Minister Taylor's and Minister Frydenberg's involvement in the 'grasslands' affair,

(x) Minister Taylor's use of falsified information in correspondence to the Lord Mayor of Sydney,

(xi) Minister Porter's appointments to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal,

(xii) Minister Hunt's awarding of MRI licences in South Australia, and

(xiii) Minister Dutton's awarding of the $423 million Paladin contract; and

*(b) expresses its disappointment in the Morrison Government's ongoing disregard for its Statement of Ministerial Standards, the conventions of our parliamentary system of government, and the expectations of the Australian community for integrity and accountability in government. *