Scott John
Morrison
Prime Minister of Australia
The Honourable Scott John
Morrison, Prime Minister of
Australia is the Member for the electorate of Cook, the area in which the
Botany Bay Family History Society's Research Centre is located. The Society's
monthly Bulletin is published free of charge by Scott Morrison's office and
this support is appreciated by BBFHS.
Scott Morrison was born
13th May 1968 in Waverley, being the younger of the two sons of
Marion (nee Smith) and John Douglas Morrison. He grew up in the eastern suburbs
of Sydney and attended Sydney Boys High school before completing a Bachelor of
Science honours degree at the University of New South
Wales.
After university, in 1989, Scott first worked
for the Property Council of Australia. The following year on 14th
January, Scott married Jenny Warren with whom he had been "keeping company"
since they were both sixteen. The couple now have two daughters.
In 1995 Scott Morrison moved
into the tourist industry as Deputy Chief Executive of the Australian Tourism
Task Force, then became General Manager of the Tourism Council of Australia.
During 1998 he moved to New Zealand where he became Director of the Office of
Tourism and Sport. On his return to
Australia in 2000 Scott became the NSW State Director of the Liberal Party
managing the party's campaigns in both the 2001 federal election and the 2003
NSW state election.
In 2004 Scott left his
position with the Liberal Party to become managing director of Tourism
Australia which produced the controversial "So where the bloody hell are
you?" advertising campaign featuring Lara Bingle.
His contract was with Tourism Australia was terminated in 2006. In 2007 Scott
sought preselection for the electorate of Cook, which he won in contentious
circumstances after the disendorsement by the Liberal
Party of his opponent Michael Towke.
The 2007 federal
election was won by the Labor Party with Leader Kevin Rudd. The following year
Scott Morrison was appointed by Malcolm Turnbull as Shadow Minister for Housing
and Local Government, then in 2009 as Shadow Minister for Immigration and
Citizenship. He served under Tony Abbott as Minister for Immigration and Border
protection 2013-14. In the 2015 Turnbull Government
he was appointed Treasurer and handed down the 2016, 2017 and 2018 federal
budgets. In August 2018, after two leadership spills called for by Prime
Minister Malcom Turnbull, Scott Morrison became leader of the Liberal party and
was sworn in as Prime Minister on 24 August. He led the Liberal Party into the
2019 federal election. Predictions were that the Coalition would lose
government. However, contrary to expectations the Morrison government was
returned, with a majority, causing Scott to say on election night that he had
"always believed in miracles."
During the early months
of 2020 Scott Morrison received much criticism for his handling of the bushfire
situation. However during the COVID-19 pandemic he has
been acknowledged even by Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia
Palaszczuk as "doing an outstanding job."
"Scomo,"
as he is fondly referred to by many, is Australia's first Pentecostal Prime
Minister. He attends the Horizon Church, a Pentecostal Christian church
affiliated with Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the
Assemblies of God denomination. He is a supporter of the Cronulla Sutherland
Sharks, the districts National Rugby League team, often attending their games
and in 2016 was named the club's number one ticket holder.
