Scott Morrison

Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and the leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Cook from 2007 to 2024. Morrison was born in Sydney and studied economic geography at the University of New South Wales. He worked as director of the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport from 1998 to 2000 and was managing director of Tourism Australia from 2004 to 2006. Morrison also was state director of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2000 to 2004. He was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 2007 election as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Cook in New South Wales, and was quickly appointed to the shadow cabinet. After the Liberal-National coalition's victory at the 2013 election, Morrison was appointed Minister for Immigration and Border Protection in the Abbott government, where he was responsible for implementing Operation Sovereign Borders. In a reshuffle the following year, he became Minister for Social Services and was later promoted to the role of Treasurer in September 2015, after Malcolm Turnbull replaced Abbott as prime minister. In August 2018, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton unsuccessfully challenged Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Leadership tensions continued, and the party voted to hold a second leadership ballot days later, with Turnbull choosing not to stand. In that ballot, Morrison was seen as a compromise candidate and defeated both Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to become party leader and thus prime minister in August 2018. Morrison won a second term after leading the Coalition to an upset victory in the 2019 election. Morrison's government passed the stage three tax cuts and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Under his leadership, the National Cabinet was established, and Australia received praise during 2020 for being one of the few Western countries to successfully suppress the virus, though the slow initial pace of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout was criticised. Morrison would be involved in several scandals and controversies as prime minister, including his decision to take a holiday during Australia's 2019–20 bushfire season and his government's response to the disaster, his response to the 2021 Parliament sexual misconduct allegations and 2022 Eastern Australia floods and his perceived inaction on climate change. In foreign policy, Morrison oversaw the signing of the AUKUS security pact and increased tensions between Australia and China and Australia and France. Morrison directed logistical support to Ukraine as part of the international effort against Russia in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The government was defeated at the 2022 election and Morrison stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party; Peter Dutton was elected unopposed to replace him. After leaving office, Morrison became involved in a scandal after it was revealed that he had secretly held several ministerial positions while serving as prime minister, which led to Parliament passing a censure motion against him. He resigned from Parliament on 28 February 2024, and has subsequently worked as an advisor to various lobby groups and as a public speaker.