Scott Morrison sworn in as Australia's 30th prime minister

Scott Morrison has been sworn in as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia during a ceremony at Government House in Canberra.

In a momentous day for Morrison, he has left Government House as the country’s official new PM after being sworn in by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.

He arrived for the ceremony on Friday evening with his wife and two children as well as his new deputy Josh Frydenberg, Nationals leader Michael McCormack and Nationals deputy Bridget McKenzie.

Morrison, 50, will pick his new cabinet over the weekend before they are sworn in next week by the Governor General.

Josh Frydenberg has opted to ditch the energy portfolio – seen as something of a poisoned chalice – and will take on the role of Treasurer.

Morrison, an evangelical Christian known as “ScoMo”, replaced a man who became the latest in a long line of leaders knifed in the back by ambitious colleagues.

He won a party vote 45-40 over former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, who was the driving force behind the move to oust Turnbull after a Liberal Party backlash against his more moderate policies.

Morrison admitted the extraordinary scenes in the nation’s capital had taken a heavy toll on parliament and the Liberal Party.

“Our job… is to ensure that we not only bring our party back together, which has been bruised and battered this week, but that will ensure we bring the Parliament back together, that we can continue to work to ensure that our country stays close together,” he said in an address before he was officially sworn in.

He said his top priority is to help farmers in New South Wales struggling through one of the worst droughts in half a century.

“This is our most urgent and pressing need right now.”