Scott Morrison

Prime minister of Australia

• Born: May 13, 1968
• Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia

Education: University of New South Wales

Significance: Scott Morrison, a conservative evangelical who had been on an upward trajectory since entering politics in 2007, became the leader of the Liberal Party and Australia’s thirtieth prime minister in August 2018 following a leadership vote. His experience included housing and local government, immigration, and treasury portfolios. Morrison served as prime minister until 2022.

Background

Scott Morrison was born on 13 May 1968 in Sydney, Australia. The younger of two sons of John and Marion Morrison, he and his brother, Alan, were raised in Bronte, a beachside suburb of Sydney. John Morrison, a police commander, eventually became a local government councilor and the mayor of Waverley and introduced his son to politics when he was nine by having him distribute political literature during that campaign. Church and community service were an integral part of Morrison’s youth. Both parents were active in their church in Bondi Junction, and Morrison regularly participated in church activities. He rowed and played rugby. He also performed as a child actor for a brief time and appeared in television commercials for cough drops.

Morrison attended Sydney Boys High School from 1980 to 1985 and then the University of New South Wales, where he earned a bachelor of science degree with honors in applied economic geography. He worked for several years in the tourism industry. From 1989 to 1995, he was the national manager of the Policy and Research Property Council of Australia. He then had a brief stint as the deputy chief executive of the Australian Tourism Task Force before becoming general manager of the Tourism Council in 1996. In 1998, he joined the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport, where he was involved in the “100% Pure New Zealand” campaign. He returned to Australia in 2000.

Political Career

Morrison began his political career working as the state director of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Joe Hockey, the tourism minister in John Howard’s government, asked Morrison to head a new tourism body to attract business and personal visitors to Australia. As the managing director of Tourism Australia from 2004 to 2006, Morrison led the “Where the bloody hell are you?” advertising campaign, which proved both controversial for its coarse language and also successful.

In 2007, Morrison entered national politics when he won a seat in the national parliament as the representative for Cook. The next year he became the opposition’s shadow minister, or spokesperson, for housing and local government. In 2009, Tony Abbott, then leader of the Liberal Party, appointed him the shadow minister of immigration and citizenship. In that role, Morrison adopted a hardline approach to immigration. He especially opposed asylum seekers arriving on boats to Australia. In early 2011, he stirred controversy by objecting to the government’s plan to pay airfare to Sydney for overseas relatives to attend funerals for forty-eight asylum seekers who died when their boat crashed near Christmas Island in December 2010. Morrison helped to craft a plan to stop the boats, Operation Sovereign Borders. He also served as shadow minister for productivity and population from 2010 to 2013.

After Abbott became prime minister in September 2013, Morrison became the immigration and border protection minister in the Coalition government. Within days of the new government’s formation, Morrison implemented Operation Sovereign Borders. Its mission was to stop unauthorized boats filled with asylum seekers from traveling to Australia. Late in 2013, Morrison requested the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to delay security clearances for as many as seven hundred asylum seekers so they would miss permanent protection visa deadlines. In 2014, Parliament granted him new powers in processing and detaining asylum seekers: he could deny entry to asylum seekers, return them to their point of origin, and detain them without charge. The government liberally funded Morrison’s strategy, and the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat reportedly declined.

Morrison was appointed the minister of social services in December 2014. Nine months later, in September 2015, newly elected Liberal Party leader Malcolm Turnbull named him treasurer. As treasurer, Morrison oversaw an increase in job creation and implemented measures to improve the national budget. His 2018 corporate tax cut, however, failed to gain approval from the Senate, resulting in a continued budget deficit.

Became Prime Minister

In August 2018, Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton challenged Turnbull for the Liberal Party’s leadership, leading to two leadership votes in quick succession. In the final vote, Morrison won the party leadership 45–40. Turnbull resigned as prime minister, and Morrison was sworn in to fill out his term on 24 August 2018. He then won a full term during the 2019 Australian federal election. His win ensured that he led the country during both the 2019–20 bushfire season—during which an estimated 18.6 million hectares were burned, more than 5,900 buildings were destroyed, and at least thirty-four people were killed—and the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2019 and 2020.

Morrison suffered both internal and external criticisms. Relations with France, for example, were strained after he went back on a deal to purchase submarines. French president Emmanuel Macron said Morrison had lied to him. Member of his own party also attacked him, calling him a bully and a liar. During the bushfire emergency, he was criticized for being on vacation in Hawaii and not responding quickly enough to disasters.

The Liberal Party lost previously strong seats in the May 2022 election. Morrison subsequently stepped down as leader of his party. In August, information came to light that as PM, Morrison had secretly appointed himself to head several ministries. The ministers of those departments had been unaware they were sharing power with him. Parliament censured him, but an investigation ruled his appointments were legal.

In January 2024, he announced he was leaving Parliament. He left politics at the end of February. He worked as a consultant for an American company, American Global Strategies, with the title of non-executive vice chair. Morrison also published a book about his faith, Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness, and went on tour promoting it in early 2024. Mike Pence, former US vice president, wrote the foreword to the tome.

Impact

Scott Morrison was known for his stringent immigration policy, his support of Australia’s coal industry, his opposition to same-sex marriage, and his denial of climate change. Critics have sometimes argued that his political stances seem at odds with his self-professed Christian faith. Most controversial was his work relating to asylum seekers. During his tenure as immigration minister, hundreds of boats were turned back. Many Australians and human rights advocates, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, criticized Morrison’s approach, but he defended it by saying he was ending human smuggling and saving lives that were endangered by perilous sea journeys. The parliamentary Australian Human Rights Commission issued a report in 2014 highly critical of Morrison’s role in the treatment of immigrant children held in detention.

A reportedly ambitious man, Morrison assumed the role of prime minister in a country marred with political instability. At his swearing-in, he became Australia’s sixth prime minister since 2007. Many Australians were displeased with the political feuding that led to his becoming head of state and expressed dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party as well as loss of faith in their government.

Personal Life

Morrison and his wife, nurse Jenny Warren Morrison, went to the same Christian camp. They met at the age of twelve, began dating at sixteen, and married at twenty-one. They have two daughters, Lily and Abigail “Abbey” Rose. They are active members of Horizon Church (formerly Shirelive), a Pentecostal church.

Bibliography

“Australia's PM Says Predecessor 'Undermined Democracy' with Secret Roles.” NBC News, 16 Aug. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/australia-scott-morrison-secret-roles-undermined-democracy-rcna43259. Accessed 24 Apr. 2023.

Bryant, Nick. “Scott Morrison: So Who the Bloody Hell Are You?” The Monthly, Feb. 2012, www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2012/february/1328593883/nick-bryant/so-who-bloody-hell-are-you. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

Cave, Damien. “Australia’s New Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, Appoints a Cabinet.” The New York Times, 26 Aug. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/world/australia/scott-morrison-cabinet-immigration-climate.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

Massola, James, and Eryk Bagshaw. “‘I’m Not Going to Put Up with It Any More’: Morrison Vows to Defend Christianity in 2018.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Dec. 2017, www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/im-not-going-to-put-up-with-it-anymore-morrison-vows-to-defend-christianity-in-2018-20171221-h08jg8.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

Pollard, Ruth. “Meet Australia’s New Prime Minister, One-Time Attack Dog Scott Morrison.” Bloomberg, 24 Aug. 2018, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-24/meet-australia-s-new-prime-minster-one-time-attack-dog-morrison. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

Remeikis, Amy. "Scott Morrison Says He Did 'Everything I Believe I Possibly Could' for Women While Prime Minister." The Guardian, 19 May 2024, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/19/scott-morrison-says-he-did-everything-i-believe-i-possibly-could-for-women-while-prime-minister. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Rojas, Rick. “Scott Morrison Is a New Kind of Australian Prime Minister: An Evangelical Christian.” The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/world/australia/scott-morrison-evangelical-prime-minister.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

"Scott Morrison: Rise and Fall of Australia's Divisive Pandemic Leader." BBC, 23 Jan. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-45292331. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Snow, Deborah. “Scott Morrison’s Relentless Rise to Power.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 Apr. 2016, www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/scott-morrisons-relentless-rise-to-power-20160418-go8qty.html. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.