The historic censure motion against ex-Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been passed in Parliament.
The responses from the Opposition have been unsurprising.
All members of the Opposition, with the exception of the courageous Bridget Archer, voted against censure motion.
The Opposition decided to close ranks behind the leader who had single-handedly led them to a catastrophic defeat.
There were mutterings of overreach and political motivation but no one in the Opposition has been able to mount a plausible justification for what Morrison did.
Why did they do this? There can be no political gain to be had from failing to condemn this egregious attempt at the centralisation of power.
This failure may quite reasonably be interpreted as a total lack of comprehension of the gravity of what Morrison did. A fundamental premise of a democracy is that power should be shared amongst those who wielded it. Morrison took a dangerous step back from this fundamental idea.
Whatever the Opposition’s motivation, this will only be seen by the Australian public as support for Morrison’s secretly abrogating five ministries to himself.
In his reply to the censure motion and in a desperate attempt to salvage his legacy, Morrison accused the government of intimidation and retribution.
“I am proud of my achievements in this place, and I am proud of my government. I am proud, at a time of extreme trial, my government stood up and faced the abyss of uncertainty.”
His justification was that he needed to be able to take “swift action if necessary in the national interests in a time when Australia’s interests were under constant threat”.
This begs the question of why it was necessary for a single person, namely him, to hold multiple ministries. Why did he not share the burden with other members of Cabinet?
In a totally bewildering feat of logic, he said “Had I been asked about these matters at the time at the numerous press conferences I held, I would have responded truthfully about the arrangements I had put in place.”
Why was he waiting to be asked?
How can the media ask questions about a matter they know nothing about?
Morrison is now a much diminished figure in the Parliament. He should resign and spare himself and his party the embarrassment of his continued presence.