David Hurley did exactly what he was supposed to do. Spare us activist G-Gs

Critics of Governor-General David Hurley over the multiple Morrison ministries miss that it was not his role to second-guess his PM.

Governor-General David Hurley (Image: AAP/Tracey Nearmy)

None of the criticism directed at Governor-General David Hurley in relation to Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries is warranted. He did exactly what he should do: follow the advice of his prime minister.

There’s no mention in the constitution of “prime minister”, famously, but plenty of mentions of the Federal Executive Council, which advises the governor-general “in the government of the Commonwealth”. Hurley would have appointed Morrison to his many and varied ministerial roles on the advice of that council.

So how come hardly anyone knew about it, including ministers? After all, the council consists of all ministers of state. But in practice, as few as two ministers can form a quorum, according to its handbook. During the pandemic, only one actually needed to be present — the other could participate by teleconference.