Major paper calls for 'pig-headed' Scott Morrison to resign as he faces censure

What do Australians want for Christmas? For Scott Morrison to resign from parliament.

That's the call from one of the nation's largest newspapers with the Sydney Morning Herald urging the "delusional" former prime minister to quit politics as an "early Christmas present" to the country and his colleagues.

The scathing takedown by the paper's editorial board published on Sunday comes in the wake of a damning report into Mr Morrison secretly appointing himself to five ministerial portfolios during his time as leader.

Despite a chorus of criticism and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling on his predecessor to apologise, Mr Morrison has remained defiant.

"Just how deluded can one person be?" the brutal SMH editorial wondered.

"The power grab was wrong and the fact he kept it secret suggests he knew it too. His own party now loathes him for it, and the public will forever judge him for it.

"Morrison should give the country and his colleagues a Christmas present by resigning from the parliament over the summer recess, and not return to Canberra next year. It’s beyond time for everyone to move beyond the Morrison era."

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The masthead argued the saga, and Mr Morrison's response, will define his prime ministership.

"The sneaky behaviour – combined with Morrison’s pig-headed response in the months since the appointments were revealed in August – will define his prime ministership in the long term."

Censure motion looms for Scott Morrison in parliament

Federal cabinet will meet today to decide whether Mr Morrison will be censured over his secret ministries while it will also consider recommendations from a report into Mr Morrison's conduct, handed down last week by former High Court judge Virginia Bell.

The report made six recommendations, which included public notifications of ministerial appointments.

"The Australian population and our democracy requires ... an apology for this," Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Sunday, but the PM said a final decision on whether Mr Morrison would be censured would rest with cabinet.

"You had a shadow government operating in an unprecedented, extraordinary way.

"You had a prime minister who was standing up in parliament and not telling his own side ... let alone the parliament as a whole, who held what portfolio and who was responsible for decisions," he said.

While largely a ceremonial move for the now backbencher, a parliamentary censure would be an official black eye on the record books for Scott Morrison and his time as leader.

with AAP

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