As Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Australia, the Governor-General of Australia is a ceremonial office. But recently, as former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's "secret concurrent" scandal continues to ferment, Australian Governor David Hurley is also in crisis.
According to the BBC, Morrison had "secretly concurrently" held five cabinet ministerial positions during his tenure as prime minister, including the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of The Treasury, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Industrial, Scientific and Technological Resources. After the news broke, australia was in an uproar.
Current Australian Prime Minister Albanes officially announced on August 26 that the government would launch an investigation into the matter, and former Australian High Court Judge Virginia Bell will lead the investigation and submit an investigation report by November 25. Albanes said the incident highlighted the challenge to Australia's parliamentary democracy and the need to ensure that such incidents did not recur.
How much does Hurley "know"?
In fact, several australian government figures have pointed out that Morrison's appointment to multiple ministerial positions is not illegal.
Australian Deputy Attorney General Dohuuna noted in a report on Aug. 23 that Morrison's practice of "secretly concurrently holding" multiple ministerial positions during his prime ministerial term did not violate the law and that several appointments were valid under the Australian Constitution, according to the Guardian.
However, Dohuuna stressed, "Morrison's failure to inform the relevant ministers and Congress of the appointments, nor to the public, is a fundamental violation of the principle of responsible government." ”
Morrison's concurrent appointment to multiple ministerial positions is controversial mainly because it is "secretive." How secret is Morrison's "secret concurrent"? According to Agence France-Presse, these concurrent positions are not only not made public, but even most members of the Australian parliament and cabinet are unaware of them.
Former Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison. Figure/IC photo
But there was one man who knew all about Morrison's "double-time" — Governor Hurley, who presided over the swearing-in ceremony of cabinet ministers. Therefore, he was also involved in this whirlpool of public opinion.
Under the Australian Constitution, the Prime Minister is responsible for forming a Cabinet and appointing Cabinet Ministers. After that, the Governor presides over a formal and public swearing-in ceremony. But in Morrison's "secret ministry," Governor Hurley did not hold a public inauguration ceremony, not even in his public schedule of official duties.
After the scandal broke out, the Australian Governor-General's Office said in a statement that Governor Hurley "signed administrative documents on the advice of the then prime minister", but that whether to make the appointment public was a decision of the government. Hurley's spokesman also said he had no reason to believe the appointments had not been consulted with other cabinet members.
However, there are still questions about Hurley's role in the scandal.
On July 1, 2019, local time, canberra, Australia, the new Australian Governor-General David Hurley attended a reception. Photo/Visual China
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), hurley's official itineraries are customarily made public online, such as attending meetings, attending events, calling government officials, and presiding over swearing-in ceremonies for appointed cabinet ministers. But none of Morrison's five concurrent activities were included in his itinerary.
In Hurley's annual report, there is no content related to Morrison's concurrent position. According to the report, Hurley's 2019-2020 annual report disclosed: "On February 6, 2020, the Governor-General held a swearing-in ceremony at the Governor's Palace, issuing appointment documents and affidavits to five ministers and a parliamentary secretary. ”
However, Hurley's letters of appointment to The Minister of Health and The Minister of Finance issued to Morrison on March 14 and March 30, 2020, respectively, were not disclosed. Similarly, several of Morrison's other appointments were not disclosed in Hurley's annual report.
According to the Guardian, Australian Greens Senator David Hewbridge previously said that a key question that Governor Hurley and former Prime Minister Morrison must answer is that the Governor has never disclosed whether Morrison's concurrent appointment was at Morrison's own request or the Governor's own decision.
Others have pointed out that Morrison's five renditions span more than a year, and hurley can't have been unaware that they were conducted in secret. Australian political scientist and historian Jenny Hawking said the Australian public must know whether Hurley had opposed Morrison's moves and why he did not make his appointments public.
Will the Governor's Crisis Push Towards Republicanism?
Since the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the Governor-General has acted as the head of state of Australia as the representative of the British monarch. The governor-general was originally chosen by the British monarch, but has since been nominated by the Australian government and approved by the British monarch.
The duties of the Governor-General of Australia are essentially ceremonial, such as signing laws, signing orders to hold general elections, and presiding over ministerial inauguration ceremonies. In other words, the Governor generally follows the Government's advice in full accordance with it.
Anne Tomei, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sydney, told the BBC that the Governor-General "has absolutely no power to refuse" on the issue of Morrison's secret concurrent appointment, "this is not even a meeting between the Prime Minister and the Governor-General, just paperwork." ”
Dohuuna said last week that Governor Hurley had done the right thing, whether he knew morrison's concurrent appointment was secret and that his rejection of Morrison was a clear breach of his duties. Albanes also said Hurley had simply done his job and that "I have no intention of making any criticism [of him]. ”
On July 26, 2022 local time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanis attended the opening ceremony of Australia's 47th Federal Parliament at the Parliament House. Figure/IC photo
But Hawking argues that the Australian government needs to investigate not only Morrison's actions, but also the Governor-General and his office. In her opinion, this is one of the biggest controversies caused by the Governor-General of Australia in nearly 50 years.
According to the BBC, some activists who support Australia's move towards a republic seized the opportunity to renew their call for a republican referendum in Australia. Sandy Biyar, national director of the Australian Republican Movement, said: "The idea that we can rely on the Queen and her representatives to maintain our political system has been completely punctured." It is time for us to have an Australian Head of State, a Head of State elected by the Australian people, accountable to them, and upheld the Australian Constitution. ”
In Australia, voices have been around to abolish the Queen's status as head of state and to convert the form of government from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. On November 6, 1999, then-Australian Prime Minister Howard held a referendum on whether to implement a republic, but it ended in failure.
Since then, the voices supporting the republic have intensified. A Sydney Morning Herald poll published in January showed that 38 per cent of Australians supported a move to a republic, higher than 30 per cent for a monarchy.
In May, Australia held federal parliamentary elections, pushing the Labour Party, which moved toward a republican agenda, to come back to power after nine years. After taking office, Albanes appointed for the first time the "Assistant Minister for Republic Affairs". Peter Fitzsimmons, chairman of the Australian Republican Movement, called it "a breakthrough in the de-royalisation of Britain".
Matt Siswaite, who is assistant minister for republican affairs, previously said in an interview with Australian media that the current government will begin to discuss the holding of a "republican referendum". "If all goes well, we can look forward to seeing an Australian head of state during our second or third term of government."
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian
Edited by Liu Xixian Proofreader Wu Xingfa