Australia's Ex-Prime Minister Scott Morrison Retires from Politics

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been relegated to the backbenches of the country's parliament ever since the coalition between the Liberal Party and The Nationals lost the 2022 general elections in favor of Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party.

However, after 16 years as an MP and almost four as prime minister, he announced his political retirement on Tuesday (Jan. 23), ending his roller-coaster political career.

Since his resignation as Liberal Party leader, he has publicly drawn closer to conservative former leaders in both the US and the UK, in particular, Mike Pence and Boris Johnson, respectively.

Sources from the Liberal Party told Australian public broadcaster ABC that he was expected to take a job with a US defense contractor upon his official final day by the end of February.

Morrison entered top-level Australian politics in 2007 after he was elected MP for the Sydney-based seat of Cook. His exit meant that a by-election for his seat would be held on March 2.

Australian Ex-PM Scott Morrison Retires from Politics — *(Photo: Martin Ollman/Getty Images)*

ScoMo's Political Highlights

Prior to parliament, Morrison, known to local media as "ScoMo," worked on tourism and marketing, selling Australia - and, in extension, New Zealand - to the world. It was during his time as head of Tourism Australia that the early 2000s catchphrase "So where the bloody hell are you?" was coined.

Upon reaching parliament, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Liberal Party and weathered several infighting incidents between moderates and conservatives.

Morrison's first significant policy was to curb the illegal migration of asylum seekers into Australia by boat. When former prime minister Tony Abbott was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015, Morrison was picked as federal treasurer, which became a stepping stone for him to assume leadership when Turnbull himself was ousted by Liberal colleagues in 2018.

Morrison's PM Years

As prime minister, he was supposed to be a lame duck due to the leadership spills before being demoted to the opposition in 2019, but the Liberals came out on top in a contest many observers at the time wrote off as unwinnable.

However, Morrison's downfall came months after the election when he was photographed taking a vacation in Hawaii while parts of Australia were burning due to bushfires. Weathering the COVID-19 pandemic also further destroyed the reputation of the Liberal-Nationals coalition in the long run.

His final hurrah apparently came with the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, which Australia entered with the US and the UK. But this deal left out the French and its separate contract with Australia for the building of diesel-powered subs.

The final nail in the coffin of Morrison's political career appeared to be his alleged flat-footed and tone-deaf response to a cultural crisis in Canberra brought about by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

After returning to the backbench, he was plagued by the Albanese government's criticism of his policies, as well as several inquiries about controversial matters under his watch, including allegedly secretly swearing himself into the Health, Treasury, Finance, Resources, and Home Affairs portfolios during the pandemic.