Scott Morrison’s sacking as Managing Director of Tourism Australia in 2006 is no secret but the real reasons have been covered up by Morrison and the Liberal Party since then and in the video below the current Tourism Australia MD Phillipa Harrison is playing her part in the continued cover-up.
Before the 2013 federal election, Tony Abbott promised an inquiry into Unions based on media reports, that started on this website, about Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her involvement in alleged fraud at the AWU with her then-boyfriend Bruce Wilson. So, on that basis, there is no reason why the Labor Party should not make an election promise to hold an inquiry into Scott Morrison’s sacking from Tourism Australia in 2006 and the subsequent cover-up.
The Scott Morrison / Tourism Australia cover-up raises the question of where do legal and professional obligations of a public servant like Phillipa Harrison lie given she is clearly lying and/or avoiding the question in the video.
The below video is from the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee – Thursday, 7 April 2022 – Senator Tim Ayres questioning Tourism Australia MD Phillipa Harrison.
The transcript is below: (Pages 50 and 51 – Click here to see on the government website)
Senator AYRES: It’s correct that Mr Morrison left the agency in 2006, isn’t it?
Ms Harrison: That’s right, yes.
Senator AYRES: Can you tell me why he left?
Ms Harrison: That predates me. I’m not privy to the circumstances under which he left the agency.
Senator AYRES: It’s confidential, is it, from current officers?
Ms Harrison: It’s not confidential, I just wasn’t in the organisation at the time and [inaudible]. I wasn’t here.
I’m not prepared to comment on something that happened 10 years before I joined the agency.
Senator AYRES: So you can’t comment on the basis for his termination?
Ms Harrison: I cannot, no.
Senator AYRES: It wasn’t for incompetence?
CHAIR: She said she can’t comment—that’s the evidence
The questions Phillipa Harrison needs to answer are:
- Phillipa Harrison says “I’m not privy to the circumstances under which he left the agency” but then says “It’s not confidential”. How does she know it’s “not confidential” if she hasn’t looked into it?
- Phillipa Harrison says “I’m not privy to the circumstances under which he left the agency” but then also says “I’m not prepared to comment on something that happened 10 years before I joined the agency.” It can’t be both. Either she does not know why Scott Morrison left Tourism Australia or she is not “prepared to comment” because when she says she is “not prepared to comment on something that happened 10 years before I joined the agency” that says she does know why Morrison left Tourism Australia, but she just doesn’t want to comment.
The contradictions in Phillipa Harrison’s answers should be investigated and since when can a senior public servant say “not prepared to comment” about someone’s sacking in her department. Government departments keep records, and those records are obviously still there given Phillipa Harrison’s answers so at worst she should have taken the question on notice and produced an answer later.
Scott Morrison’s pre-selection for the federal seat of Cook in 2007
Scott Morrison’s dodgy pre-selection hit the media again recently (Click here and here to read more) and with a bit of digging, I have found more information. Morrison’s sacking from Tourism Australia in 2006 was used to get a late-night court injunction to stop the Liberal Party pre-selection in 2007.
On the 23rd of June 2007, it was reported: “Mr Morrison was yesterday targeted with allegations over his previous role as the managing director of Tourism Australia. He called it a bogus document.” (Click here to read more)
It was reported on the 24th of June 2007:
A LATE-NIGHT court hearing blocked yesterday’s planned federal Liberal Party preselection ballot for the southern Sydney seat of Cook.
Candidate David Coleman, a magazine publishing executive locked in a battle against high-profile candidate Scott Morrison and others, launched the extraordinary action late on Friday.
“The unusual events followed developments in which it was revealed that the Remuneration Tribunal raised concerns about the $332,000 payout Mr Morrison – a former Liberal Party state director – received when he resigned as Tourism Australia boss last August. In a letter to Tourism Australia chairman Tim Fischer, tribunal president John Conde stated he believed the payout should have been “less than $120,000″.” (Click here to read more)
So Morrison was paid at least $212,000 more than he should have been which is even more reason there should be an inquiry into his sacking. Maybe the fraud squad should be called at the very least.
I published an article in 2019 titled “Looks like PM Scott Morrison was sacked as Managing Director of Tourism Australia in 2006 because of fraud and theft” (Click here to read the article) Which gives a fair insight into why Scott Morrison was really sacked and in 2021 John Howard joined the cover-up attempt and I published an article titled “Scott Morrison calls on John Howard to lie about why he was sacked from Tourism Australia but the lie doesn’t explain why he was also sacked from Tourism NZ” (Click here to read the article)
After reading this article I think most people will agree that it would be fair if Labor wins the election that they hold an inquiry into Scott Morrison’s sacking from Tourism Australia given the Tony Abbott government held a Royal Commission into Unions that was initially motivated by reports into corruption allegations about Julia Gillard and the AWU. If Labor did make the promise on an inquiry I think it would be a big vote winner as there are many people who would like the full truth to be revealed especially when it involves allegations of taxpayers’ money being fraudulently used.
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