Prime Minister Scott Morrison has claimed that “the Lord” wanted him to be prime minister as far back as 15 years ago — before he had even entered Parliament.
Morrison was apparently so certain of these plans that he was prepared to move cities if needed to find a seat where he could be pre-selected.
Morrison’s ruminations on God’s intentions have been retold by one-time leading Hillsong pastor Joel A’Bell and his wife Julia in a recent video seen by Crikey. The video was made late last month, intended for an online Pentecostal audience.
It is an eye-opening account of Morrison’s take on himself and his destiny circa 2006 as told to A’Bell. It was a time Morrison was on the make politically. He had already served as NSW state Liberal Party director from 2000 to 2004 and had overseen a state and federal election campaign. He then had a stint as head of Tourism Australia — an appointment branded as openly political at the time. He left the role mid 2006.
In the video A’Bell — with some help from wife, Julia — retells the conversations they had with Morrison around this time.
“Have you ever met anyone really significant?” A’Bell asks in the video. “We’ve had the chance over the years to meet significant people — some of the prime ministers of Australia. The current one is a Christian. He’s a believer. Scott. The prime minister.
“And we’ve known Scott and Jenny [Morrison] for about 15 years. In fact they were in our church as part of our congregation for years before he was prime minister. I remember having breakfast with him. He said, ‘Joel I really feel like this is what the Lord wants … He wants me to become prime minister’.”
Morrison said he and his family may “have to leave here and go somewhere else to try to get a different seat, a different city”.
Describing Morrison’s appearance at the Australian Christian Churches’ national conference, which was held on the Gold Coast in April this year, A’Bell said he didn’t know “whether to bow, curtsy or just give him a high five because I know him personally, but I know that he carries the weight of the significance in his title. And that’s how God does things. He introduces himself”.
Morrison gave a shout out to A’Bell from the conference stage, along with senior Hillsong pastor Brian Houston.
“It’s like the ghost of pastors past here tonight because there’s Joel and Julia A’Bell over here, who we knew when we were at Sydney at Hillsong,” Morrison had said. “And of course, you Brian and Bobbie [Houston]. Just pay you honour, mate.”
Morrison then went on to recall Houston’s advice to him: “Use what God has put in your hand”. (Context: it is also part of Pentecostal belief in Australia that a great Christian revival will begin in “the great southern land of the Holy Spirit” — a phrase used by Morrison at the beginning of his conference address. The idea was also promoted by an English-born evangelist called Smith Wigglesworth who visited Australia in the 1920s. Wigglesworth allegedly prophesied that God would use Australia to make an impact on all nations.)
Morrison had moved from A’Bell’s church to a different one, the Pentecostal Horizon Church in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, which gave him local presence. It turns out there was no need to move to another city: Morrison ultimately gained preselection for the seat of Cook. But as Crikey has reported, it was a messy affair.
Despite references from senior Liberal figures including John Howard, Morrison did not even make the final ballot in the 2007 preselection, losing to businessman Michael Towke after gaining only eight votes.
But Towke was forced to move aside after The Daily Telegraph published a series of stories alleging branch stacking and false claims on his nomination form.
The party’s state executive then anointed Morrison as candidate, parachuting him in without preselection. Towke later won a defamation settlement with the Telegraph.
The Lord’s work was indeed done — a miracle which was given a helping hand by the high priests of Holt Street, the Tele‘s head office. It seems Rupert works in mysterious ways.
Crikey has made several attempts to contact A’Bell, a one-time rock star preacher who lived the high life at Hillsong as the church’s lead Australian pastor before he departed three years ago. He is now a regular at the Pentecostal Glow Church on the Gold Coast and is a regional leader for global charity Convoy of Hope. A’Bell has not responded.
It’s a mystery how to interpret God’s signs. A painting of an eagle is a dead set thumbs up that you’re destined to be PM, but getting comprehensively towelled in a pre-selection by the score of 82-8 is merely a hiccup in the grand plan, and nothing that a bit of lying and cheating can’t fix.
It’s “head I win, tails you lose” with God! No matter Morrison feels he’s on a winner.
I would warn God though, to watch his back.
Here endeth the heads up.
The work and politictical mysteries re the progress to the top of our failed advertising hack of a PM are a good read online. I am waiting for a whistleblower to finally answer some questions the Teflon PM has refused or failed to answer .After reading the PMs CV who would hire him
Not just failed, but repeatedly sacked!
The Saturday Paper uncovered an auditor-general’s report from 2008 examining the handling of three major contracts, which had delivered a scathing assessment of Tourism Australia’s management.
The report provided the first indication as to the real reason Morrison was removed.
The contracts were worth $184 million, and the auditor focused most on the two biggest – those with companies M&C Saatchi for global creative services or advertising campaigns, and Carat for media placement.
The audit report revealed that information had been kept from the board, procurement guidelines breached and private companies engaged before paperwork was signed and without appropriate value-for-money assessments.
Shame QAnon had already anointed Trump as God’s chosen president or Morrison might have interpreted the eagle as sign to move to America.
Difference was we knew Trump was bunging it on.
No mystery about when Scummo is doing so – his lips move.
I am tired of being told by the mainstream media and figures I have to ‘respect’ Scott’s faith. I don’t respect the pentecostal faith. It is anti-women, it is pro-money, it consists of a bunch of made up nonsense like speaking in tongues and the list goes on.
Why would I respect this?
Several decades ago H L Mencken offered some sort of answer to your question:
We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.
It is an indication of civilisation to tolerate the intolerant but that should not extend to their intolerable actions when manifested in the public sphere.
It depends what it is meant by ‘tolerate.’ If you mean allow such people to live among us without arrest, then sure I tolerate our resident fundamentalists. I don’t believe you should be imprisoned for your views and that sort of thing.
But there sure is a push in the mainstream media (now often LNP connected) to ‘respect’ Scott Morrison’s religious beliefs. I tolerate his right to hold them without bring arrested or something but it sure is a stretch to say I have to respect it.
People are quarantined for infectious diseases to protect the public.
Religious delusion is a mental disease often willingly acquired and highly transmissible, especially to children.
If it is held in private and not allowed to intrude into the public sphere the suffered may be pitied but I se not reason for ‘respect’.
Given the gulf between Jesus’ teachings and Pentecostal beliefs, I don’t think the latter can really be called Christian and I don’t think Jesus would be looking favourably at Morrison’s ethics and morals as Prime Minister.
Also as a more general comment on the article, Morrison was sacked from Tourism Australia
by Fran Bailey, the Liberal Tourism Minister at the time.
Lucky him. Jesus only wanted me for a sunbeam.
I’ve always believed the Lord wanted me to win a mega Lotto – which is better than being prime Minister because at least Murdoch can’t cull Lotto winners.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. 🙂
Whoops. That was supposed to be in response to Selkie.
Let’s hope that he is taken from us very soon.
Well he obviously took away his tool’s previous jobs.
Fran Baily: “I reiterate that it was a unanimous decision to get rid of Mr Morrison by the board and the minister.”
Fran Bailey, then took, with the support of then prime minister John Howard, to change the governance arrangements for Tourism Australia in the wake of Morrison’s tenure, to make the board more accountable to its minister.
“Only if you promise to donate it all to the Coalition”? …. Which seems to be a loop-hole anyway.
“Use what God has put in your hand”. – apparently the man upstairs decided against putting a hose in his hand
“Use what God has put in your hand”. Well God has put nothing in his hand, because all Morrison has given us is nothing.
I guess Frank Houston thought he was talking about children
The implied overlap between Morrison’s Lord and the baleful Rupert – he who strikes down those who dare to stand in the way of the Lord’s anointed – is neatly done. Has anyone seen them both in the same room at the same time?
And the Lord will choose when its time for him to go. Bugger the electorate! Hold your Bibles high, speak in tongues and say
Morrison the son of God is before us disguised as the Devil. Flip a few Tarot cards, cast some chicken bones for our Prime Minister is delusional.