It turns out that for most of his time in office, Scott Morrison was more than just prime minister.
He assumed the powers of five additional portfolios and did so almost entirely in secret.
So what were these additional roles and why did he take them? Political reporter Tom Lowrey has taken a look.
health
On March 14, 2020 – when the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 was near its peak – Mr Morrison became, effectively, a secondary health minister.
The reasoning he gave at today’s press conference was that the health minister had extraordinary special emergency powers under the Biosecurity Act and part of it was being used.
finances
On 30 March 2020, Morrison also took over the powers of finance minister, who at the time was Mathias Cormann.
In his press conference, Morrison argued that there were “massive financial delegations” available only to the finance minister and – like the health minister – precautions had to be taken.
Treasury and internal affairs
In May 2021, Mr Morrison took over the treasury and home affairs portfolios.
Morrison has said he took the roles as an “administrative precaution”, as part of a “belt and restraint” approach, and he never considered it likely that he would use the powers that came with them.
Industry, Science and Resources
Shortly before taking over the home affairs and treasury, Scott Morrison made the call to take over the various department.
The reason, Mr. Morrison has made it clear, it was completely separate from the pandemic.
He wanted to take control of the decision-making process around the hugely controversial PEP-11 exploration licence, which would explore gas supplies offshore between Sydney and Newcastle.
He would ultimately reject the PEP-11 application, and said this week that it was the only decision he made with any of the additional powers he received in any portfolio.
