Scott Morrison

Biography

Scott John Morrison was born on 13 May 1968 in Waverley, Sydney, and grew up in the eastern suburb of Bronte, where his father served as a police officer and local councillor. He attended Sydney Boys High School and studied at the University of New South Wales, graduating with an honours degree in applied economic geography. He is a member of a Pentecostal church.

Before entering Parliament Morrison built a career in policy and tourism administration. He worked as national policy and research manager at the Property Council of Australia and later headed the Tourism Task Force, an industry body. From 1998 to 2000 he directed the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport, and he then served as state director of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2000 to 2004, managing its campaigns. He was managing director of Tourism Australia from 2004 until 2006, a period that included a high-profile international advertising campaign.

Morrison won Liberal preselection for the southern Sydney seat of Cook after an initial ballot was overturned, and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2007 election. In opposition he became shadow minister for immigration and citizenship, and after the Coalition won office in 2013 he was appointed Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, where he implemented Operation Sovereign Borders, a military-led policy of turning back asylum seeker boats. He subsequently served as Minister for Social Services from 2014 and, following Malcolm Turnbull's accession, as Treasurer from 2015 to 2018.

In August 2018, amid a challenge to Turnbull from Peter Dutton, the Liberal Party room declared the leadership vacant and Morrison defeated Dutton by 45 votes to 40. He was sworn in as Australia's 30th Prime Minister on 24 August 2018. Against widespread expectations based on opinion polling, he led the Coalition to victory at the election of 18 May 2019, retaining majority government.

Morrison's second term was dominated by crises. His government faced criticism over its handling of the 2019–2020 bushfire season. During the COVID-19 pandemic it established the National Cabinet of federal, state and territory leaders, closed the international border and introduced the JobKeeper wage subsidy and an increased JobSeeker payment to support households and businesses. In September 2021 he announced the AUKUS security partnership with the United Kingdom and the United States, under which Australia would acquire nuclear-powered submarines, and in October 2021 the government committed to a target of net zero emissions by 2050. Across both terms the government also legislated staged personal income tax cuts and established the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The Coalition lost the election of 21 May 2022, and Morrison stepped down as Liberal leader. Later that year it was revealed that he had been secretly sworn in to administer several additional ministries during the pandemic; an inquiry found the arrangements had undermined responsible government, and in November 2022 the House of Representatives passed a motion censuring him, the first such censure of a former prime minister. In 2023 the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme made adverse findings about his conduct as social services minister, which he disputed. He resigned from Parliament in February 2024 and took up roles in international advisory and defence-related business. He is married to Jenny Morrison, with whom he has two daughters.