Governor-General David Hurley has refused to be drawn on whether Scott Morrison's secret ministerial appointments should have been made public.
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In his first public comments since the saga erupted, General Hurley refused to expand on a statement his office released earlier this week. The statement said it wasn't uncommon for ministers to be appointed to new portfolios.
The statement also said questions about telling the public about the appointments were a matter for the government.
The Governor-General was responsible for signing off on the former prime minister's appointment to five extra portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021. They were never revealed to the public or most of Mr Morrison's cabinet colleagues.
Fronting reporters after opening a new autism school in Canberra's south on Wednesday morning, General Hurley refused to respond when asked if he was concerned his office had been compromised during the saga, or whether he had legal doubts in making the secret appointments.
"I've released a statement about my role in this, my responsibilities under the principles of responsible government by which we run our country," he said.
"I'm content, at the moment, to allow the process the Prime Minister has put in place to run through till next week. In the meantime, I'll do my job as I've done it in the past."
Mr Morrison is under pressure to hasten his exit from Federal Parliament as shocked colleagues seethe over revelations that their former boss held crucial roles without their knowledge.
The former prime minister is due to front the media at 12.15pm in Sydney.
Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews has publicly called for Mr Morrison to resign, while another unnamed Coalition MP said the best path forward for the party was for the former prime minister to quit as soon as possible.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce have rejected suggestions that Mr Morrison should resign.
What The Canberra Times wanted to ask the Governor-General
- Did you have doubts over your role in Mr Morrison's appointments?
- Given there is no suggestion of illegality, were your hands effectively tied once Mr Morrison advised you to make the appointments?
- A professor of law has suggested you had three questions to ask: Is this necessary, how will it work, and could this wait until someone is actually sick? Did you ask those questions? If not, why not?
- Were you aware Mr Morrison was not going to make the appointments public?
- Did you advise Mr Morrison to make them public?
Mr Albanese hasn't criticised the Governor-General's role in the scandal, insisting he was acting on Mr Morrison's advice.
But at least one Labor backbencher, Bruce MP Julian Hill, has reportedly suggested General Hurley's position was untenable after he participated in a "scheme that misled the cabinet, the parliament and the public".
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has called on the governor-general to explain the legal advice he relied on before making the secret appointments.
"[General Hurley] needs to come out and tell us where he got his advice from, he's going to have to run through and explain it," Senator Lambie told ABC Radio National on Wednesday.
"If there's been no legal breach here, then obviously he's done nothing wrong."
Mr Albanese is due to receive further advice from the solicitor-general on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister confirmed his predecessor had secretly appointed himself to the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and resources portfolios during the pandemic.
Mr Morrison used a lengthy Facebook statement to apologise to his colleagues, but insisted the secret power grab was done in "good faith".
He insisted he only used his extra ministerial powers once - to override then-resources minister Keith Pitt to reject a gas exploration permit off the coast of NSW.
More to come
READ MORE ON THE MORRISON SCANDAL:
- 'I apologise': Morrison offers no excuse for 'good faith' secrecy
- 'Betrayal of trust': Karen Andrews tells Morrison to resign from parliament
- Albanese excuses public servants for not revealing Morrison's secret ministries
- Secret Morrison appointments coincided with major pandemic moments
- 'Stealth bulldozer': Scott Morrison held five secret portfolios
- 'Unprecedented trashing': What we know about the Morrison revelations
- 'Oversight': Morrison defends secret power grab as more ministries discovered
- Analysis: Bulldozing in secret, Scott Morrison trashes whatever legacy he had
- Explainer: What did Scott Morrison do and why does it matter?
Dan Jervis-Bardy
