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Scott Morrison

Treasurer Scott Morrison, or ScoMo as he is better known, has been picked to replace Malcolm Turnbull as Australia's new prime minister. Turnbull was forced to step down following a week-long revolt by Liberal Party lawmakers. Australia's beleaguered Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as prime minister on 24 August 2018 after a majority of Liberal Party parliamentarians said they supported calls for a leadership change. Treasurer Scott Morrison won the following leadership contest, defeating former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton by 45 votes to 40. Morrison, one of Turnbull's backers, will be Australia's sixth prime minister in 11 years.

Scott is a muscular Christian in his father’s mould. The muscular Christian, a construct which arose in 19th Century England, was a sort of resolutely cheerful and robust person, who did not take religion too seriously, and who was supposed to mark, and undoubtedly did mark, a pleasing transition from the foregoing fashion of piety. The novelist and academic Charles Kingsley was thought to have been the author of the term. though he expressly denied it, and said he did not know what it meant. He wrote in 1877 that it was "a healthful and manly Christianity, one which does not exalt the feminine virtues to the exclusion of the masculine."

The term was introduced by Charles Kingsley to denote that robust, healthy, religious feeling which encourages and takes an active part in the harmless and healthy amusements of life, as opposed to a puritanical, ascetic, or contemplative form of religion. Hence a muscular Christian is one who does not think it inconsistent with his religious feelings and duties to take an active part in the ordinary occupations of life, and to share its harmless and health-giving amusements. The Boy Scouts were founded by a Musclar Christian.

Admirers describe him as compassionate, personable, moral and extremely able. Critics take a wholly different view, calling him arrogant, over-ambitious and bullying.

Scott Morrison was born in 1968, in Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, now one of the richest enclaves of the country’s richest parliamentary constituency. His family background, however, could hardly be described as part of the elite. Rather, it was strongly Christian and communitarian. His father, John, was a police commander who founded the local Boys Brigade in Bondi Junction, played rugby for Randwick and was an active member of the local RSL. John Morrison was also politically active, serving 16 years on the local council as an Independent and becoming the mayor of Waverley in the mid 1980s. His son’s first political act came at the age of nine, when he handed out how-to-vote cards on behalf of his father. Morrison had a background in tourism before entering Federal Parliament. He was National Manager, Policy and Research Property Council of Australia 1989-95, Deputy Chief Executive, Australian Tourism Task Force 1995-96, and General Manager, Tourism Council 1996-98. In March 2000 he took up a position as the state director of the NSW Liberal Party.

ScoMo was elected to parliament in 2007, from the safe seat of Cook, which encompasses the Sutherland Shire. ‘God’s Country’, as locals prefer to call it, was the point of arrival for the first boat people in the history of modern Australia: the crew of the HMS Endeavour. Opposition Liberal Party Leader Tony Abbott announced 08 December 2009 a new shadow cabinet that highlights a shift toward a more aggressive and conservative approach toward the Government. The new lineup favored those who backed Abbott's overthrow of Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal leader. Scott Morrison, a former Turnbull supporter but close to the Right, was promoted to Immigration. He served as Shadow Minister for Housing and Development from 22.9.2008 to 8.12.2009; Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship from 8.12.2009 to 18.9.2013; Shadow Minister for Productivity and Population from 14.9.2010 to 18.9.2013.

He has held several cabinet positions in successive Liberal governments, including as minister for immigration and border protection from 2013-2014, overseeing Australia's controversial immigration policies.

Australia's immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said 18 August 2014 the country will offer to resettle almost 4,500 refugees from Iraq and Syria. This will be part of Canberra's formal refugee intake of about 14,000 people each year. Morrison insists the places are available because of the government's success in stopping asylum-seeker boats. Iraqi Christians and others from the Yazidi faith will be eligible for Special Humanitarian Visas in Australia. Canberra has set aside 2,200 places for refugees fleeing violence in Iraq and a similar number from Syria.

During his more than ten years in the parliament, ScoMo established a reputation as a passionate advocate for his local community as well as a proven fixer for difficult policy problems in three senior Cabinet portfolios. As Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, he successfully stopped the boats. As Social Services Minister, he reduced abuse of the welfare system and put Australia’s social safety net on a more sustainable footing.

As Treasurer, his achievements included reducing the deficit, getting debt under control, maintaining Australia's AAA credit rating, record jobs growth, cutting corporate and personal income taxes, ensuring multinationals pay their fair share of tax and reforming Australia's banking and financial system. As Treasurer, ScoMo was a senior member of Prime Minister Turnbull's team also serving on the Expenditure Review and National Security Committees of Cabinet, amongst others.

ScoMo lives in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south with his wife Jenny and their two young daughters. He is a netball dad, a member of Shirelive church [where the gospel of prosperity is preached], number one ticket holder of his beloved NRL Cronulla Sutherland Sharks and a big Tina Arena fan.

Morrison's leadership was likely to take the Australian government on a more conservative course. Morrison was a social and economic conservative and has strong religious convictions. For example, he voted 'no' in the same-sex marriage process in 2017. However, Morrison faced an uphill battle to retain his title through upcoming elections in May 2019. Australian voters have strongly opposed changes of leadership mid-term, especially when they think these are not necessary. If history was any guide, the expectation would be that they will find it very hard to retain government at the next election, whenever that was held.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted defeat 22 May 2022 following the country’s federal elections on Saturday, calling Labor Party chief Anthony Albanese to congratulate him on his victory. The PM conceded in a televised speech from Liberal headquarters in Sydney, adding that he would stand down as the party’s leader. “On a night like tonight it is proper to acknowledge the functioning of our democracy. I have always believed in Australians and their judgment, and I’ve always been prepared to accept their verdicts, and tonight they have delivered their verdict,” Morrison said.

Morrison, who served just one term in office, was not the only prominent Liberal to lose out in the election. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, viewed as Morrison’s most likely successor, was also knocked out of his post. Morrison’s conservative government had been widely panned going into the election for what many viewed as its abysmally poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters, specifically the devastating fires that preceded the coronavirus outbreak.

France's former foreign affairs minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said he was pleased that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lost the election, showing lingering bad blood following the controversial termination of a $90 billion submarine contract. "I can't but admit that Morrison's defeat suits me very well," Le Drian said from Paris. Morrison's actions showed "brutality and cynicism, and I would be even tempted to say even a measure of clear incompetence," Le Drian said.