Opposition leader Peter Dutton has moved to distance himself from Scott Morrison saying his decision to take on five portfolios was wrong and he would never behave in such a manner if he were prime minister.
A day after he said Australians had “bigger issues” to worry about than Morrison’s actions, Dutton said on Wednesday morning that “what he did clearly was the wrong thing”.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison leaves his Sydney home on Wednesday morning.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Dutton also promised to work with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on a solution to make sure the extraordinary events could never be repeated.
“Scott’s apologised, rightly. I think he’s detailed that yesterday. I think it’s appropriate that he has apologised, because what he did clearly was the wrong thing,” Dutton told Tasmanian radio station Tasmania Talks.
“It’s not something that I would do if I’m elected to be prime minister at the next election, and we’ll work with the government to make sure the checks and balances are put in place to make sure that it can’t happen again.”
Dutton did not say if Morrison should resign from parliament.
Opposition frontbencher Karen Andrews on Tuesday said Morrison should quit. Andrews was home affairs minister at the time Morrison appointed himself to the portfolio but did not learn of the appointment until Albanese made it public.
Former prime ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull have both criticised Morrison’s conduct in the past 24 hours.
Mr Morrison will hold a press conference in Sydney at 12.15 pm today.
More to come.
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