Scott Morrison’s desperation to distance himself from Hillsong founder Brian Houston and the pastor’s moral transgressions shows how treacherous Morrison is prepared to be — and what dark new territory he will go to — to save his political skin.
Yet Australia’s political commentariat has all but ignored Morrison’s reaction and the ugly truths it has shown about the prime minister’s character.
How ugly?
Morrison lied, of course, when he claimed last week that he hasn’t been part of Houston’s Hillsong for 15 years. As Bernard Keane showed, Morrison’s “Brian who?” strategy was a big, brazen lie — number 50 by Crikey‘s calculations — because there was photographic evidence of Morrison on stage with Houston, praying together, at the opening of Hillsong’s 2019 annual conference. Besides that, there is a long, unbroken trail of close personal encounters between the two.
But Morrison’s other major line of defence was even more cynical. Under the pressure of falling poll numbers, Morrison latched on to the pain of those hurt by Houston.
“My first thoughts were with the victims, as they’ve been rightly described,” Morrison said, taking the tone of the morally outraged.
Concern for the victim? It wasn’t always this way. It is fresh in everyone’s memory that only 12 months ago Morrison took a pummelling when he was unable to comprehend the impact of rape on a young woman without the insights of his wife, Jenny.
Morrison has had eight years to put the welfare of Hillsong victims ahead of the church and Brian Houston but has failed to do so.
In 2014 the McClellan royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse heard details of the case of Brett Sengstock who, as an eight-year-old boy, was sexually abused by Brian’s father, Frank.
The commission heard that as an adult Sengstock was paid off by Frank Houston with the princely sum of $12,000 in a grubby deal overseen by a still-serving member of the Hillsong hierarchy in a meeting at a McDonald’s restaurant. Brian Houston’s role in the deal was aired at the hearings.
There was also evidence tendered that one of Frank Houston’s victims from New Zealand directly approached Brian Houston for a form of recognition in the years after Frank had passed away.
In 2015 the commission referred information on Brian Houston to the NSW Police, recommending they investigate if there was a case to answer of concealment of information on child sex abuse.
In 2019, as we reported, a Hillsong employee was found guilty of indecently assaulting a young woman, Anna Crenshaw, who had attended Hillsong College as a visiting student from America.
Despite these incidents, all on the public record, Morrison continued his public support for Houston. The prime minister’s effusive endorsement of Houston at a national conference of Pentecostal churches on the Gold Coast in April last year (“just pay you honour, mate”, Morrison said) enraged victim Sengstock and his supporters. At the time Houston was under investigation for allegedly concealing information from police. (Charges have since been laid and Houston has vowed to defend them vigorously.)
Yet with an election in sight, Morrison now professes that his compassion lies first with the victims.
A pattern of silenced victims
Instead of poll-driven public display of sorrow for a victim, the prime minister might do better to call out Hillsong’s long-established practice of paying off victims in exchange for their silence.
The pattern began with the off-the-books pay off to Sengstock two decades ago.
In 2013 a woman resigned in distress after Brian Houston had sent her inappropriate texts. She was given two months’ salary, paid by Houston rather than the church, another off-the-books arrangement.
It was the same in 2019. A woman who was distressed by Houston’s behaviour in her hotel room was given a refund of her Hillsong conference fee and a donation she had made to Hillsong, paid by Houston.
And as we revealed last week, the Hillsong culture is such that a New York pastor forced a young female staff member to sign a non-disparagement agreement while he was having an extramarital affair with her.
Yet Morrison has not used his authority to call out Hillsong’s cover-up culture.
Instead he has taken his hollowed-out persona into a dark new place — surely a major story with an election around the corner, yet largely ignored by other media.
If lying precludes political success how come we have so many liars in power recently or today? Johnson whose entire career has been one great big lie, Trump who wouldn’t know a fact if it bit him on the bum and now Morrison, the most hypocritical member of a religion that encourages hypocrisy above all else.
All in power due to The Moloch and His Minions here in the C of A , UK and USA,
Could it be that the mainstream media outlets let them get away with it?
The Mainstream media have a difficult election to win with Morrison being such a slippery character, I feel sure they have very strict instructions as to what issues to deal with and how.
I agree that the commentariat appear to be missing on this matter. I heard it described on one political commentator show as of “narrow” interest to the public. I don’t understand why when in particular it highlights the PM’s utter hypocrisy and tendency not to worry too much about the truth. They only seem interested in continuing to trawl through the Kimberley Kitching matter which in some ways it could be also be described as being of narrow interest. Of course, political culture should be scrutinised but why are the commentators missing on the Hillsong issue? I’m totally bamboozled.
Look at the history of those commentators and see who they work for, and you have the answer to that.
People that would not last a day in a real workplace because of their mendacity and obfuscations.People you would never invite to meet your family and friends.
‘By their works shall ye know them’.
They’re missing on all sorts of matters. No one has the guts to touch Friendlyjordies’ serious allegations against Peter Dutton and Jacqui Lambie’s claim that she was threatened with prison if she reveals details of the refugee deal hs barely rated a a mention, let alone any analysis.
It is, as many here have noted previously, a protection racket.
Hat tip to Klewso below, who beat me to it.
Where are the media? Busy rifling through Kimberley Kitching’s underwear drawer.
Morrison’s pre selection was built on lies and it’s been that way throughout his political career. He was described by Peter Hartcher some years ago as “ the biggest grub in the parliament “. Even his own colleagues describe him as sly and untrustworthy. What does it say about the people who voted for him before and may well do so again?
It simply shows that they don’t pay attention to politics.
You are right. The majority of Australians are not interested in politics and are proud of it. The will just place the vote based on what they have been told by Morduch and similar outlets. Hence, I am not in favour of compulsory voting. What is the point of voting when one has no idea what one is voting for. I rather have 60% of educated voter than 60% or more of ignorant voters
Here are the 10 countries with the highest rates of voter turnout:
Belgium has long had compulsory voting though no-one is prosecuted for not voting.
Dunno where you found Oz to have under 80% turnout – a Minties’ wrapper?
There is always 5% No Show and another 5% cast invalid ballots – most quite deliberate as the AEC found.
Back in the 80s it used to publish an analysis of spoiled ballots, available for a fee to political parties, which pored over these in detail as the leanings of the disgusted/disengaged were usually quite apparent.
This is the Voter Turnout by Country 2022 website: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/voter-turnout-by-country. In the past, I have seen figures of 90% . According to the website above, 90.98% are registered voter, though not everyone votes, despite composure voting. That does not count the donkey votes. I know people, that do not want to vote for any party and vote invalid, as not to get fined.
UK & USA have turnouts of 60%, most of whom no-one could describe as educated voters.
I wonder what proportion of voters put ethics, truth, integrity and the big picture above transactional politics (ie their hip pockets)?
None. This has me so upset. Hillsong do a Sunday Sermon happy clappy thing for the gullible that feed them money at The J which is owned by Noosa Heads Council. They are allowing an organization founded by a pedo and whos grand poobah son covered for said pedo and then indulged in drugged up sexual lean on behaviour to the detrement of the victims self esteem and mental health. And Scumo likes them and wanted Houston at White House and did happy clappy with Brian at Annual Conference of bleating sheep…..
Can’t give you an uptick but I feel the pain.
Yes the way he slithered into the seat of Cook is a fine example… aided by Liberal Party apparatchiks smearing Michael Towke…
Nasty saga you nearly missed SMH By Paul Sheehan October 26, 2009
Towke is also a long-serving member of the Liberal Party. In July 2007 he won preselection for the then safe federal Liberal seat of Cook. He was set to replace the outgoing member, Bruce Baird. The contest attracted a large field, including Paul Fletcher, who recently won Liberal preselection for Bradfield (vacated by the former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson), and a former state director of the NSW Liberal party, Scott Morrison.
Towke won easily. On the first ballot, he polled 10 times as many votes as Morrison, 82 votes to 8, who was eliminated in the first round. His victory meant that a Lebanese Australian would represent the Liberal Party in the seat where the Cronulla riot and revenge raids had taken place 18 months earlier, in December 2005. “The campaign against me started four days after preselection,” Towke said.
Two senior people within the Liberal Party, whose identity is known to a widening circle within the party, went through Towke’s nomination papers to find every possible discrepancy and weakness. Then they started calling selected journalists to tell them Towke was a liar. The first story appeared in The Daily Telegraph on July 18, 2007, under the headline, “Liberal ballot scandal in Howard’s backyard.”
Three days later, on July 21, a second story appeared in the Telegraph: “Towke future on hold.” The next day, in The Sunday Telegraph, a third story: “Party split as Liberal candidate faces jail.”
“That was the story that sent my mother to hospital,” Towke told me.
Where is Sharri Markson?
Sharri is too busy writing Labor “bad” and Labor “mean girl” stories. She doesn’t have time to write anything negative or factual about this most corrupt (allegedly) Morrison/Joyce government. She has an election to win come hell or high water.
Nowhere near me I hope.
Shari who!!!
More to the point, Sharri WHY?
Who is Sharri Markson? Is she from Hillsong?
Didn’t she find out exactly how Covid was released into Wuhan on purpose without ever having gone there?
Too busy muck raking against the Labor Party.
Doing as she is told, of course.