DEFINITION FOR UTTERLY UPDATE

In a statement, Governor-General David Hurley confirmed he signed off on the appointments, but Dr Beck said he still had further questions to answer. Governor-General David Hurley issued a statement defending the process. 'Convention in this country is that the identity of ministers is published in the Gazette, that the identity of ministers is known to parliament.' 'Technically, this looks like it's probably, strictly speaking, legal, but it is inconsistent with constitutional convention, these are the unwritten rules that govern how things run,' he said. 'It's such an odd situation and until we know the explanation it's very hard to put a value judgement on it but it certainly requires investigation and explanation.' Appointments technically above board, but constitutionally inconsistentĪssociate professor of constitutional law at Monash University Luke Beck said the decisions were legal but 'utterly bizarre'.

'It's worrying for the proper democratic system and its performance. 'The whole system of Westminster democratic government requires us to know who has the power in relation to various portfolios. 'The powers that be in the attorney-general's department will be looking at this and there will be some debate about whether this is the sort of thing that should be looked at by an ICAC,' he said. Mr Whealy, a former assistant commissioner of the New South Wales ICAC, said the revelations could lead to a push for an expansion of the integrity body's powers. 'Because we don't know the precise definition of corrupt conduct in the new legislation we can't say with any certainty whether it would be capable of investigation.'Īnthony Whealy says Scott Morrison's actions require investigation and explanation. 'If you go to New South Wales, it's possible that this sort of behaviour could be investigated but in Victoria the definition wouldn't permit you to investigate it,' Mr Whealy said. 'I don't know whether this would end up in an integrity commission, but it sure as heck seems very, very dodgy and most questionable.' Federal ICAC investigation unlikelyĬentre for Public Integrity chair Anthony Whealy QC said while highly unusual, it was unlikely the actions would be investigated by a federal integrity body. 'Well, we didn't know that he was acting as a minister. 'Could the prime minister have been in breach of any ministerial code? Now, what we don't know about this particular episode is, well, we don't know much at all,' she said. 'It's set up to investigate serious or systemic corruption. She said many questions needed to be answered to clarify whether a federal integrity commission could investigate the appointments. Independent MP Helen Haines sought to start a debate on her federal ICAC bill last year. 'It really begs the question: who was in charge?' 'Why did he think it was so important to do it, but not important enough to share it with anyone else? 'Fundamentally, this goes to the core elements of trust, accountability and transparency and they are the issues that everyday Australians have been so worried about for such a long period of time,' she said.

Independent Victorian crossbencher Helen Haines, a key backer of a federal integrity commission, said she was alarmed by the secret appointments. He also hinted that there could be more ministries that Mr Morrison secretly appointed himself to, ahead of a second briefing from his department this morning. but then also we will need some recommendations potentially of how this can be avoided in the future, because this really does undermine our democracy.' 'What we need here is a pursuit of the truth. 'I think that is what we need to examine,' he said. Speaking to ABC Radio, Mr Albanese gave an early indication he would seek to close the loophole that enabled Mr Morrison to appoint himself to the roles. The department has sought advice from the Solicitor-General.

DEFINITION FOR UTTERLY UPDATE

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to provide an update today after receiving briefings from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, following revelations Mr Morrison secretly appointed himself as joint minister in the health, finance and resources portfolios during his term of government.

Definition for utterly