Former PM back in the spotlight
Federal parliament has resumed yesterday for the first time since the election. While the usual bevy of new faces was on show, one familiar face was missing.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison was not present, opting instead to make an overseas trip to Japan.
Mr Morrison says he had accepted an invitation to speak at a forum of former world leaders before the new parliamentary schedule was released.
“Prior to the new government advising the sitting schedule for the remainder of 2022, I had already accepted an invitation to join other former prime ministers from Canada, the UK and New Zealand to address an international event to be held in Tokyo this week,” he said in a statement.
He confirmed he will take his place on the Opposition backbench for the second week of this sitting of Parliament.
Does this seem legitimate or just a case of sour grapes?
This seems legitimate and nothing would have been noted unless the government highlighted it. The government has also asked questions about who is paying for the trip and it would reasonable to assume that it is paid for by taxpayers. The invitation was given in respect of the position of PM so that, by itself, makes it a taxpayer funded trip.
I read today that Albanese wants a better behaved parliament which, to my mind, is hypocrisy writ large. This article and the government asking questions about it are merely an extension of Labor's personal attacks on Morrison. The last parliament was made a mockery by the behaviour of the opposition which continually attacked Morrison on a personal basis and catcalled across the chamber when the government was answering questions. The number of questions by Labor that were disallowed was higher than in previous Question Times due to the personal nature of the questions.