If one wanted to look at the stupidity and incompetence of those who ruled over us during the pandemic, one need only look at the lefts hypocrisy in regards to the Chinese lockdowns.

Liberal Hypocrites Now OPPOSE Lockdowns In China
http://youtu.be/SPOLaS9Tzlc

First they imposed lockdowns against all of us, and used extreme measures against anyone that protested.

Now those same people that supported our lockdowns criticise the Chinese lockdowns, and convey sympathy to Chinese protesters when they supported a heavy handed approach to the same kind protesters in our countries.

This should be adequate to demonstrate that our leaders are completely full of it, they're incompetent, cannot be trusted and have little idea of what they're actually doing.

I don't care that Scomo took on a further responsibility over those other departments, the buck stops with him so taking a closer look at the goings on was actually prudent in my opinion.
But doing so in secrecy, is not in keeping with a responsibility to keep citizens informed of what was happening.
That said, maybe it wasn't necessary since he never really acted upon those changes he made.

If there's any error of judgement it could be Albo for being so petty. He and the ALP cabinet routinely shift blame for broken promises like power price increases on the previous government. Albo also repeats the line to the effect of what a breath of fresh air the ALP represents. For example at big conferences he says we are going to solve the climate problem when the other mob couldn't. The trouble is so far it is all talk. This must be starting to wear thin with the public.

Albo does have public broadcasting on his side. It doesn't look like taxpayers will fund counter arguments to the aboriginal parliament, yet the ABC gleefully echoes everything he says. Perhaps the backlash starts next year.

Revenge it is. It is all about a small-minded, ignorant and spiteful little man, Anthony Albanese.

Morrison was a bad Prime Minister, and an arrogant one. But his 'multi-ministerial nonsense' was neither illegal nor harmful; it did no harm to me or any other Australian voter. It probably miffed a couple of Ministers, but who cares about them!

Then, in charged Albanaste, full of resentment and out for revenge, spending money on something that taxpayers wouldn't give two hoots about. They had been treated like subjects of Xi Jinping over Covid for two years, and this rubbish about 'secret portfolios' is the best the most unlikely PM ever could come up with.

As the author says there "there is no evidence" that Morrison's actions in any way 'undermined public confidence in the government' - particularly as the public new nothing about it, didn't need to know anything about it, and now that it is revealed, don't care about it. Plenty of things have undermined the public's confidence in government, but this trivial affair is not one of them.

In relation to Covid, Morrison's big blue was to set up the so called national cabinet, and allow power-crazed state premiers and their bureaucrats to act like little Xis. He can rightly be condemned "for political ineptitude and even stupidity".

But little Albo won't condemn Morrison for that because he, Albo, has the same faults, in spades.

The current PM, rather that take his nastiness out on the previous PM, should be holding a real enquiry into the authoritarian actions during Covid that his own Leftist comrades were involved in up to their eyeballs.

The actions under review and subject to censure are strictly post pandemic. And were, I believe, an attack on the very fundamentals of democracy. As far as I know, Morrison is not a lefty. Nor the government he led nor the cabinet he presided over.

So, the usual imbecilic response by our extreme right wing nutjobs to blame everything on scapegoat lefties, demonstrates just how much they belong to the willfully blind, out of touch lunatic fringe. Please self-identify with the usual enraged, cage rattling response.

It was nothing more, I believe, than a power grab by a power junkie. And Morrisons defense was little more than a review of the government's response to the pandemic. Which had nothing whatsoever to do with Morrison's secret self-appointments to several portfolios.

They're two completely different things that are, I believe, in no way related to the issue at hand.

The censure (virtual, naughty boy, finger wag, slap on the wrist with a verbal wet tram ticket) will, I believe, change nothing for a tone-deaf Morrison who tries to portray himself as the persecuted victim being verbally stoned/politically crucified by colleagues. And, I also believe, outrageous hypocrisy in the extreme.

The man should resign and go home to his family to rest and recover until he is well again And, able to regain logical perspective! And his mojo.
Alan B.

I'm pleased that the legislation was finally passed and now a federal anticorruption commission will be able to bring it sights to bear on this and the possible misappropriation of taxpayer funds on sports rorts and parking lot rorts, etc., etc.
Alan B.

Unfortunately a typical piece excusing the inexcusable from a partisan hack.

The Solicitor General is not to be dismissed as a mere "public servant". The man is highly qualified and one of the foremost legal minds in the country which is why the Morrison government reappointed him for another 5 year term.

While he did indeed find that the strict lettering of the Constitution did not prescribe Morrison's actions he was also quite scathing in his report saying:

"That said, the fact that the Parliament, the public and the
other Ministers who thereafter administered DISER
concurrently with Mr Morrison were not informed of
Mr Morrison’s appointment was inconsistent with the
conventions and practices that form an essential part of the
system of responsible government prescribed by Ch II of the
Constitution. That is because it is impossible for Parliament
and the public to hold Ministers accountable for the proper
administration of particular departments if the identity of the
Ministers who have been appointed to administer those
departments is not publicised. That conclusion does not
depend on the extent to which Mr Morrison exercised
powers under legislation administered by DISER, because
from the moment of his appointment he was responsible for
the administration of the department."

Despite the careful legal language this was a pointed rebuke.

It is quite fitting that some one whose behaviour was utterly: "inconsistent with the conventions and practices that form an essential part of the system of responsible government" receive some form of censure, even if it is just to dissuade similar behaviour in the future.

To be downplaying it and calling the move to censure vindictive is just partisan tripe