The Governor-General’s secretary has maintained that David Hurley had no responsibility for communicating the appointment of Scott Morrison to administer five extra portfolios while prime minister.

Appearing at a Senate estimates hearing, Hurley’s official secretary Paul Singer defended the Governor-General’s role in the secret ministries’ scandal, when the Queen’s representative appointed Morrison to administer the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and industry, science, energy and resources in 2020 and 2021.

Governor-General David Hurley has been defended by his official secretary a Senate estimates hearing over role in the Morrison secret ministries’ scandal. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Morrison did not inform the Parliament or most of his cabinet colleagues about the appointments, with the issue only emerging in the public domain in August.

Singer told the hearing it was a matter for the then-Morrison government to publicise the appointments.

“The responsibility for communicating any changes to departments being administered is not the function of the Governor-General or my office. It has always been at the prerogative of the government of the day,” Singer told the hearing.

Former High Court justice Virginia Bell is currently undertaking an independent inquiry into the matter and is due to report back to the government by November 25.

Quizzed by Greens senator David Shoebridge on why the appointments had not appeared in the Governor-General’s daily program, which is published on his official website, Singer said the program only listed “official engagements” attended or hosted by Hurley and not “the contents of the Governor-General’s in-tray”.

He said it had been standard practice “for many years” to not include the appointment of ministers to administer departments in the program, drawing a distinction between this process done by written instrument and an in-person swearing-in ceremony.

“I can refer to 38 different occasions over the last 10 years where those such occasions have not been reflected in the Governor General’s program because the communication of those administrative requirements is the prerogative of the government of the day.”

Singer also defended Hurley’s support for the controversial Australian Future Leaders Program, rejecting suggestions that the Governor-General had lobbied Morrison to fund the initiative.

“He simply provided some support to an idea that he thought had merit…As far as the Governor General’s role, he simply wrote to the then-prime minister on the 26th of November 2020 saying that this was an interesting idea and invited the then-prime minister to take a briefing on it,” Singer said.

The Albanese government in September axed the $18 million grant allocated to the program by the Coalition following revelations that it had no staff beyond founder Chris Hartley, no offices, no website and no phone number.

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