Australia: Ex-PM Scott Morrison Delivers Farewell Speech to Parliament

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered his final address to the country's Parliament on Tuesday (Feb. 27) after reports of his intention to retire from politics last January.

It was earlier reported that Morrison, who stood down from party leadership after the Liberal-Nationals coalition lost the 2022 general elections, would be officially ending his stint as an MP by the end of February and was reported to take a job with a US defense contractor.

The former prime minister used his final speech to thank his family, staff, and parliamentary colleagues, summarize his political career, with his successor in the dispatch box, Anthony Albanese, the best after he proposed to his partner Jodie Haydon, and give a parting warning of China's continuing tactics to coerce or seek advantage over Australia and the rest of the Asia-Pacific, the ABC reported.

"We have contested fiercely in this place, I have had my wins and I have had my losses, but I wish you all well in your service in the national interest," Morrison told parliamentary colleagues. "Too often in this place we confuse differences of policy with judgements about people's intent and motives, this is not good for our polity. We may disagree but we need to honor the good intentions of all of us."

As he began to channel his post-politics era, Morrison admitted that his daughters, Abbey and Lily, requested him to put Taylor Swift references in his farewell speech.

"It is true that my political opponents have often made me see red," he quipped. "Often when subjected to the tortured poets who would rise to attack my reputation. In response, I always thought it important to be fearless and speak now, or forever hold my silence and allow those attacks to become folklore."

Morrison's Legacy

Among the political achievements he highlighted include dealing with the immigration issue during his time as immigration minister under Tony Abbott, strengthening the Australian economy as federal treasurer under Malcolm Turnbull, and dealing with COVID-19 and the signing of the AUKUS deal with the UK and the United States during his tenure as prime minister.

Regarding the warning against China, Morrison told colleagues that China's tactical shift away from "wolf-warrior" diplomacy should not be confused.

"[Beijing] would prefer power to freedom and care little for the price their own citizens pay to achieve their ends," he said. "For this reason, our government stood firm against the bullying and coercion of an aggressive Chinese Communist Party government in Beijing, who thought we would shrink when pressed.

"The 2022 election may have provided an opportunity for Beijing to step back from their failed attempt at coercion, but we must not be deluded: tactics change, but their strategy remains the same."

(Photo: ABC News (Australia))

Closing his speech, Morrison said that he would leave as someone who had "given [his] all" in the political arena and had "plenty of scars to show for it." He also highlighted his Evangelical Christian faith and even quoted passages from some of the epistles by the apostle Paul in the Bible.

"I leave this place appreciative and thankful, unburdened by offenses, and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political life; this is due to my faith in Jesus Christ, which gives me the faith to both forgive but also to be honest about my own failings and shortcomings," he added.

Morrison's retirement from politics would trigger a by-election in the southern Sydney seat of Cook, which the Liberal Party would expect to comfortably retain.

Albanese, Dutton Wish Morrison Well

Meanwhile, Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton paid tribute to Morrison in his political retirement.

For his part, the current prime minister reflected on Morrison's leadership and how he made difficult decisions with states and territories tackling COVID.

"We shouldn't take for granted the fact [that] those decisions were made, and that required leadership," Albanese said. "I'm sure in the solitary moments, of which there were too many of course for all of us due to the COVID restrictions, that you must have gone through some really difficult times in trying to reassure yourself that the decisions being made, big decisions, were the right ones. But I don't doubt for one second that the motivation for that was absolutely right."

On the opposition frontbench, Dutton praised Morrison's distinguished service to the nation.

"There are many things you can hang your hat on after a 16-year career, but having had the leading role in saving tens of thousands of lives has to be at the top of the tree ... and not just lives but livelihoods," he said. "That is one hell of a legacy."