Editorial
The one-man super scheme

Of all the things Scott Morrison does not understand, and the list is long and often embarrassing, somewhat in the shape of his prime ministership, China would rate very close to the top.

Under Morrison, Australia’s relationship with China reached its lowest point. He went more than a year without speaking to President Xi Jinping. To curry American favour, he clumsily pushed for a pandemic inquiry that would target China.

He and his ministers used fear of China to score cheap political points, always at a cost to the country. He watched as China imposed $20 billion worth of trade bans on Australia, unable to resist or reshape them.

Now Morrison argues that Australia should agree to participate in any military conflict over Taiwan. He wants an increase in Taiwan’s military spending. Again, his interests are his own rather than the country’s.

“If Taiwan were to be forcibly placed under the authoritarian rule of the CCP, there would not be a corner of the globe that would be unaffected,” Morrison told a military gathering in Taipei this week.

“Failure by the US and its allies to prevent or reverse the seizure of Taiwan leads regional states to accept PRC primacy and even hegemony in the region. This in turn creates a more conducive environment for the spread of autocratic and authoritarian regimes in the region, under the PRC’s shelter.

“Further afield we also cannot ignore the encouragement this would give to autocratic regimes such as Russia, Iran and many more to chance their arm.”

Morrison says “authoritarian” as if it has five syllables, as if he hasn’t read to the end of the word. He has never thought anything through to its conclusion. To remind the audience of his other failures, he said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan “would make the global Covid-19 shutdown look like a sneeze”.

What Morrison is describing is the assurance the United States sought from Anthony Albanese over military support on Taiwan. Were Morrison prime minister, it would almost certainly have been given. Smirking, his eyes aware of a joke or odd smell, he argues that Donald Trump’s erratic behaviour is good for the region. “China can’t make any assumptions, ah, when it comes to the actions of the United States and that I think changes their strategic calculus.”

Morrison now works for private defence companies in the US, sitting on boards and in advisory positions. When he speaks, he is speaking for them. Once again, Morrison is extraordinary in everything but merit.

A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for a man who led the country to go and shill for a foreign military. Decency and clearance would have restrained it. By contrast, Morrison’s last and only meaningful acts in parliament were about securing his first opportunities outside it. AUKUS is less a security partnership and more a one-man superannuation scheme.

Morrison’s commentary on Taiwan is not about keeping Australia safe. He has the strategic insights of a hamburger. As he did when he was prime minister, he’s betting the country’s future in exchange for his own comfort.

The problem with high office is it implies high values. It confers gravitas on the people who have held it. The words of a former prime minister were once the words of a statesman. This is the order Morrison interrupts. He is and always has been a spiv, a man with a pocketful of business cards for ministries he never really held and a rent-to-buy submarine deal his grandchildren might live to see.

This is not a man who should shape global affairs. It is not a man who should call for war. The fact he believes he can do both is a damning reflection on the politics out of which he smilingly grew.

This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on October 11, 2025 as "One-man super scheme".

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