Australia rocked by ‘ghost government’ scandal

THE Australian prime minister today pledged an investigation following revelations that his predecessor had secretly appointed himself to several ministerial portfolios during his pandemic coronavirus.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Scott Morrison of “cheap activities”. The Last he had appointed himself Minister of Health, Finance and Reimgs, among others, alongside existing ministers, without informing his colleagues, Parliament or voters.

Calling these events “unusual and unprecedented”, Albanese announced today that he had sought legal advice.

“It is the kind of cheap activity that becomes ridiculous if it takes place in a democratic countryAlbanese said. “Scott Morrison ran a ghost government”.

In some cases Morrison appointed himself a co-minister without telling the members of the government he had appointed to those positions, thus usurping certain powers.

The scandal has shed light on the opacity of how decisions are made in the Australian government and prompted calls for stronger democratic safeguards.

It remains unclear how many portfolios Mr Morrison had thus given himself, but local media reports said he had taken over the reimgs portfolio and used his power to kill a major gas project off Sydney.

Morrison’s conservative coalition lost the election in May after nearly a decade of centre-right rule.

In Australia, ministers are appointed by the prime minister before being sworn in by the governor-general during an official ceremony generally held in public. But this was not the case with the additional roles taken on by Scott Morrison.

The constitutionalist Ann Tuoni estimates that such events may cause legal challenges to certain decisions of the previous government.

“The secrecy surrounding this case is completely strange. You can imagine what happens if these people have to do everything in secret,” he said.

“It is completely inappropriate. We live in a democracy that requires transparency.”