Former prime minister Scott Morrison will resign from Parliament at the end of February, ending months of speculation about his political future.
The Cook MP confirmed his plan to retire in comments to The Australian, saying it was “time to move on” and elect a new local member: “It has been my great privilege to represent the wonderful people of Cook for more than 16 years in our federal Parliament. The decision to leave is always a difficult one when you have been doing something you love and feel passionate about. However, I believe the timing is now right to move on to a new season with my family and take on fresh challenges.”
Morrison hinted at his next job. He told the newspaper he looked forward to “new challenges” in global strategic advisory roles and private boards. He said he would draw from a network established through his work with the AUKUS defence pact and the QUAD alliance, as well as spend more time with his family. He also has a book coming out, a religious and political memoir titled Plans For Your Good.
Political insiders had expected the former Liberal leader to resign for months; speculation began shortly after his 2022 election loss to Labor.
Morrison entered cabinet as immigration minister in 2013, was promoted to social services minister the following year, and became treasurer in 2015. He defeated current Liberal leader Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party in August 2018, taking over as prime minister after the ousting of Malcolm Turnbull.
He went on to win the 2019 election in a surprise victory, leading Australia through the Black Summer bushfires (when he was criticised for taking a holiday in Hawaii) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Bye Scooter. Don’t come back. Please, don’t ever come back.
Shrooo. Yes. And I say that for Christians too who care for how and why their religion is mis-used by figures like Morrison, Abbot and Howard in the Public Sphere. It is telling too that he’s off to advocate for Defense. Pr*ck.
Let’s hear that again: Moving on to ‘global strategic advisory roles and private boards… draw(ing) from a network established through his work with the AUKUS defence pact and the QUAD alliance’. Joining the AUKUS gravy train along with Joel Fitzgibbon and Arthur Sinodinos and who knows how many more ex-pollies to follow suit. Shameless. Almost makes me wish Trump gets up and puts the kybosh on the whole racket. Bah!
The guy has no shame. He just spells it out clearly. My benefactors have found me something to do. The old “quid pro quo” in action.
Although his reputation proceeds him. Anyone who doesn’t know will be warned. A guy for the “dead wood” department.
I was going to say signs AUKUS deal at 100s of billions of dollars , resigns get gets a cushy job with a US defence agency….Nothing to see here
At last he’s found a big enough trough for his snout. And it looks like it’s a trough, or several troughs, he set up for himself while he was PM. Nice work if you can get it. Conflict of interest, much? Will the NACC be curious about any of this?
Not sure he did set them up while in office. He’s been a very long time for a liberal party failed politician in finding a grateful sponsor with a post-political sinecure for him.
There’s not much doubt he did set it up while in office:
Using a few hundred billions of tax-payer money to set himself up with a lucrative retirement hobby is, I dunno, what’s the word? Cheeky?
Mr Morrison definitely keeping up with the times there, gettiing his resignation announcement written by ChatGPT. All the spontaneous sincerity we’ve come to expect.
Despite having a CV that says “great team player – I can be five members of a team at once” and “very creative (especially with the truth)” I can’t believe his appointment has been through any HR department. How would Scummo ever get past the psychometric testing? He’d ring every warning bell there is for “doesn’t play well with others”.
He’s going to work on boards? Specialising in ethics and good governance I suppose? Or should that read he’ll be on Malibu boards – in Hawaii.
Actually, I thought that given his experience of going missing in Hawaii, he might have been cast in a re-make of Gilligan’s Island (playing five roles of course – Gilligan, the professor, the movie star, the millionaire’s wife, and the coconut palm) where the usual sitcom narrative transmogrifies into “Lord of the Flies”.
Wherever Scummo goes to work, people are going to have to work with him. In consideration of those future work colleagues, a moments silence please.
Peter, Paul & Mary’s If I had a Hammer played in my head as I read this – ‘If I had a bell, I’d ring out danger, I’d ring out a warning..’