- by E Lennon
- The Guardian
- Issue #1990
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the confounding claim earlier in November that he has never told a lie in his time as a public figure.
Many lists refute this extraordinary claim, which is in and of itself a lie: from climate change and bushfires to the pandemic, just to name a few issues where his transparency leaves much to be desire.
The Prime Minister told 3AW host Neil Mitchell that, “I don’t believe I have lied in public life.” The Mornings host went on to ask how it felt to be called a “serial liar” by Malcolm Turnbull. Mitchell also brought up French President Emmanuel Macron, who called Morrison a liar in the fallout from Australia withdrawing its submarine contract withdrawal with the European country. Morrison went on to rush out the words, “I’m making the right decisions.”
Earlier this year, in September, a leaked text message between President Macron and Morrison revealed that two days before the contract was torn up, the French leader had no idea that the USA, Australia, and the UK were in cahoots to form AUKUS.
“Let me be really clear. Australia has made the right decision when it comes to our defence interests in going forward with a nuclear-propelled submarine capability and doing that in partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom,” Morrison told reporters at the Rome COP26 Summit.
“We were very aware that that would lead to some deep disappointment. But you’ve got to make the right decision for Australia. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Morrison is a highly religious individual who regularly attends Horizon, a Pentecostal church in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire. The Christian faith itself holds truth as a core value, regardless of denomination. It would be logical that a Christian in the public light would acknowledge their imperfect actions; however, Morrison, as he so often does, shrouds himself in a cloak of unaccountability. He wouldn’t be the first person of faith to do so, and it reveals a mental disconnect between his view of himself and the integrity so often called for in the Christian Bible.
Back in the 2019 election, Scott Morrison stated that Labor wished to “ram” their electric vehicle policy down the public’s necks. He went on to say that Bill Shorten wanted to “end the weekend” because according to him, electric vehicles were not sufficient to be practical in widespread use for “towing” or getting Australians “out to their favourite campaigning spots.”
Last month, Morrison was asked about his own current electric vehicle policy. He denied ever campaigning against them and called any contrary aims a “Labor lie,” despite there being a video of him on the campaign trail rallying against their use.
Years before his prime ministership was even a prospect, Morrison made misconduct claims against Save the Children workers on Nauru, telling 2GB that, “there may have been a level of coaching and facilitation and co-ordination amongst people who are working for one of our service providers.” When asked about his claims, Morrison denied ever having made them despite Insiders presenter, Barry Cassidy reading his own words back to him.
Morrison’s pattern of lying is not new and it has been a feature of his time in public life since before his prime ministership.
