Ministerial Positions


Minister for Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
In office 15 April 2021 – 23 May 2022 Serving with Christian Porter (2021); Melissa Price as Science and Energy (2021–2022); Angus Taylor as Industry (2021–2022)
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Christian Porter
Succeeded by	Madeleine King
Minister for Home Affairs
In office 6 May 2021 – 23 May 2022 Serving with Karen Andrews
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Karen Andrews
Succeeded by	Clare O'Neil
Minister for Finance
In office 30 March 2020 – 23 May 2022 Serving with Mathias Cormann (2020); Simon Birmingham (2020–2022)
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Mathias Cormann
Succeeded by	Katy Gallagher
Minister for Health
In office 14 March 2020 – 23 May 2022 Serving with Greg Hunt
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Greg Hunt
Succeeded by	Mark Butler
Treasurer of Australia
In office 6 May 2021 – 23 May 2022 Serving with Josh Frydenberg
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Josh Frydenberg
Succeeded by	Jim Chalmers
In office 21 September 2015 – 28 August 2018
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Joe Hockey
Succeeded by	Josh Frydenberg
Minister for the Public Service
In office 29 May 2019 – 8 October 2021
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Mathias Cormann
Succeeded by	Ben Morton
Minister for Social Services
In office 23 December 2014 – 21 September 2015
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Kevin Andrews
Succeeded by	Christian Porter
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
In office 18 September 2013 – 23 December 2014
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott
Preceded by	Tony Burke
Succeeded by	Peter Dutton

Member of the Australian Parliament
for Cook

In office
24 November 2007 – 28 February 2024

Preceded by

Bruce Baird

Succeeded by

Simon Kennedy

Personal details

Born

Scott John Morrison

13 May 1968 (age 57)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Political party

Liberal

Other political
affiliations

Coalition

Spouse

Jenny Warren

(m. 1990)

Children

Parent

John Douglas Morrison (father)

Education

University of New South Wales (BSc Hons)

Signature

Nickname

ScoMo

Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician. He was the 30th Prime Minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He was also the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Morrison was a member of parliament (MP) for the area of Cook in New South Wales. He held this position from 2007 until 2024. He announced he was leaving politics in January 2024 and officially resigned in February 2024.

Early Life and Education
Starting His Political Career
Australia's Leader (2018–2022)
- Relations with New Zealand
After Politics
Political Views
- Social Policies
- Environmental Policies
Personal Life
- Marriage and Family
Honours
- Foreign Honours
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Education

Scott Morrison was born in Sydney, Australia, on 13 May 1968. He was the younger of two sons. His father, John Douglas Morrison, was a policeman and also served as a mayor on the local council.

Scott grew up in a suburb called Bronte. When he was a child, he acted in some television commercials and small roles in local shows. He went to Sydney Boys High School. After high school, he studied at the University of New South Wales. He earned a degree in applied economic geography.

Starting His Political Career

Before becoming a politician, Morrison worked in tourism. He was a director for the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport from 1998 to 2000. Later, he was the managing director of Tourism Australia from 2004 to 2006. He also worked for the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2000 to 2004.

In 2007, Scott Morrison was elected to the Australian House of Representatives. He became the MP for the division of Cook. Soon after, he joined the "shadow cabinet," which is a group of opposition politicians who watch over government ministers.

After his party won the election in 2013, Morrison became the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. In this role, he was in charge of a plan called Operation Sovereign Borders. This plan aimed to stop asylum seekers from arriving in Australia by boat. The next year, he became the Minister for Social Services. In 2015, he was promoted to Treasurer. The Treasurer is like the country's chief financial officer, managing its money.

Australia's Leader (2018–2022)

Morrison with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on his first overseas visit as prime minister

Morrison with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires

Morrison with U.S. President Joe Biden at the UN General Assembly in New York City

Morrison with East Timor's president Francisco Guterres

Morrison at 45th G7 summit in Biarritz, France

Morrison at a National Cabinet meeting

At the 2019 Lowy Lecture, Scott Morrison said that countries should respect each other's independence.

Scott Morrison became the Prime Minister of Australia in August 2018. During his time as Prime Minister, Australia faced several big challenges.

One major event was the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. These were very severe bushfires across Australia. Morrison's government received criticism for its handling of the disaster.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Morrison created the National Cabinet. This group brought together leaders from different parts of Australia to make decisions about the pandemic. Australia was praised in 2020 for controlling the virus well. However, the initial speed of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout was criticized.

In foreign policy, Morrison helped sign the AUKUS security agreement. This agreement was with the United States and the United Kingdom. His time as Prime Minister also saw some increased tensions in Australia's relationships with China and France.

Relations with New Zealand

Morrison defended Australia's policy of sending non-citizens back to their home countries. This included New Zealanders who had broken Australian laws. New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said this policy was "corrosive" to the relationship between the two countries.

In 2021, Morrison and Ardern talked about a dual Australian-New Zealand citizen whose Australian citizenship was taken away due to terrorism links. They agreed to work together to solve this complex issue.

Later in May 2021, Morrison visited New Zealand. He met with Prime Minister Ardern in Queenstown. They discussed working together on COVID-19, their countries' relationship, and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

After Politics

On 23 January 2024, Scott Morrison announced he would resign from Parliament. He officially left on 28 February 2024. After leaving politics, he took a job with a consulting firm called American Global Strategies. He became a non-executive vice chairman there.

In May 2024, Morrison also published a book about his life and beliefs. It is called Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness.

Political Views

Social Policies

Morrison with Queen Elizabeth II and other world leaders in Portsmouth, 2019

Scott Morrison has stated that he supports Australia's constitutional monarchy. This means he supports the King or Queen as the head of state, with an elected government.

His views on immigration have been discussed in the media. When he was Minister for Immigration, he was responsible for Operation Sovereign Borders. This policy meant that asylum seekers arriving by boat were not allowed to enter Australia.

Morrison was against legalizing same-sex marriage in Australia. After a national survey on the topic, he suggested changes to the law. These changes would have allowed parents to remove children from classes if "non-traditional" marriage was discussed. His suggestions were not passed, and he did not vote on the final law. Same-sex marriage became legal in Australia in December 2017.

Morrison has also supported the idea of keeping transgender women from playing in "single-sex sports" for women.

Environmental Policies

Morrison's views on climate change have been a topic of interest. In 2014, he and his party voted to remove Australia's carbon pricing scheme. This scheme aimed to make companies pay for their carbon emissions. In 2017, he famously brought a lump of coal into Parliament to show his support for the coal industry.

During his time as Prime Minister, Australia's climate policies were ranked very low by the Climate Change Performance Index. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, Morrison first downplayed the link between climate change and the fires. However, he later admitted that climate change might have played a part. Many protests happened across Australia because of his government's climate policies.

After attending a climate summit in 2021, Morrison did not immediately set targets for net-zero emissions. He believed that market forces, rather than government rules, could help address climate change. His government later pledged that Australia would aim for net-zero emissions by 2050. However, this was not made into a national law.

Personal Life

Scott and Jenny Morrison in March 2019

Scott Morrison enjoys rugby union. He supports the Eastern Suburbs RUFC team. After moving to the Sutherland Shire, he became a fan of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby league team.

Marriage and Family

Scott Morrison started dating Jenny Warren when they were both 16 years old. They got married in 1990. They have two daughters together. Their daughters attend a private Baptist school. Morrison has said that one reason for this choice was to avoid "the values of others being imposed on my children."