The list of politicians and prominent figures who have called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a bully — on or off the record — grows longer by the day.
Here’s an incomplete list of the PM’s bully list.
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells
In her exit speech to Parliament, the NSW Liberal MP labelled Morrison an “autocrat [and] a bully who has no moral compass”. She went on to tell the Senate that he was “not fit to be prime minister” and that he and Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has “destroyed the Liberal Party” by intervening in NSW branch preselections.
Morrison has a history of responding to claims by women of bullying by framing them as emotionally unstable and put Fierravanti-Wells’ harsh words down to “Connie” being very “disappointed” after being relegated to an unwinnable spot on the Liberal Party’s NSW Senate ticket.
Pauline Hanson
One Nation founder Pauline Hanson was quick to back up Fierravanti-Wells’ claims: “He is a bully. I have experienced it myself. He is a man that says he will do it my way or no way.”
Jacqui Lambie
Outspoken independent Senator Jacqui Lambie was the next cab off the rank, telling a Sky News reporter the PM was “one of the most unpleasant men I’ve ever had to sit in front of. He is a bully. To Scott Morrison it is all about power. It is certainly not about putting the best person in the job. It’s not about merit or credit. As long as you’re in Scott Morrison’s inner circle and you bow down to him, you will be a minister. That is how it works up here, mate.”
Oof. And that’s just this week.
Julia Banks
Last year former Liberal MP Julia Banks made headlines when she described Morrison as a “menacing, controlling wallpaper” who was in control of “bully boys” who had hounded her while she was in Parliament. Banks quit the Liberal Party in 2018, and in 2021 claimed she was the victim of media backgrounding by the prime minister and his followers, aimed to tarnish her reputation and cast aspersions on her mental and emotional state.
Gladys Berejiklian
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian allegedly told colleagues that she doesn’t like dealing with Morrison because he is “evil” and a “bully”. She denied making these comments, but hasn’t denied that she called Morrison a “horrible, horrible person” who she “did not trust” in texts to another senior Liberal — although she does say she “doesn’t recall” sending these messages.
Christine Holgate
Former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate said Morrison’s dressing-down of her during a parliamentary question time when he pushed for her resignation was “one of the worst acts of bullying I’ve ever witnessed” and an “utter disgrace”.
Grace Tame
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has frequently and publicly called the prime minister out for his bullying behaviour. To list all the times she has warned us about Morrison’s character would fill the pages of another article. Instead this four-word tweet sums it up perfectly.
