Independents are demanding Labor prioritise ensuring future prime ministers cannot slip into an "autocratic-style of government", over punishing Scott Morrison for the secret ministries scandal.
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The Greens are pushing ahead with their attempts to refer Mr Morrison to the powerful parliamentary privileges committee, which could force the former prime minister to apologise to parliament.
There are also calls for the secret power-grab to be explored as part of a broader royal commission into Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the expanded crossbench is warning putting one man to the "sword" won't avert another prime minister enabling "an autocratic-style of government" in the future.
Mr Morrison is under fire for secretly assuming control over five significant portfolios, without alerting the public, the vast majority of his colleagues, or all but one of the impacted ministers.
'Frightens me'
Independent MP Kylea Tink told The Canberra Times the scandal had laid bare Australian democracy's reliance on conventions and good will, calling for publication of ministerial responsibility to be made law.
But Ms Tink said politicians were often in a "rush to put perpetrators to the sword", and would like to see Labor focus "less on the punishment and more on picking up the rulebook".
"I don't know what drove [Mr Morrison] to make that decision ... what frightens me as an Australian is that he was able to do it so autocratically and we didn't know about it," she said.
"The individual and the approach that was taken needs to be looked at, but the most important thing we can do coming out of this is make sure it never happens again."
Ms Tink warned prime ministers wielded an "extraordinary amount of arbitrary power", citing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cuts to MP staffing levels, which was not reflected on enough in public debate.
"Effectively, it was the enabling of an autocratic-style of government, and that's not who we are or who we want to be," she said.
"[But] just punishing one person isn't necessarily going to close that loophole for the next one who may want to walk through it."
Ms Tink supported a royal commission into Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had included decisions which "should never be repeated", and hoped it would be given the scope to explore Mr Morrison's secret power grab.
'Alarming'
Helen Haines, independent MP for Indi, backed that call and supported referring Mr Morrison to the privileges committee.
Dr Haines described Mr Morrison's explanation for the power grab as "flimsy" and called for him to make a statement to House of Representatives when parliament meets next month.
"There are still significant questions outstanding, and what we have learnt about the actions of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison ... is alarming," she said.
"Mr Morrison's recent public statements have only increased my concern about what went on with these secret ministries."
Independent senator for the ACT David Pocock said reform was needed to prevent "secretive centralisation of power" from happening again.
But Senator Pocock will wait until Mr Albanese receives advice from the Solicitor-General on Monday before calling for Mr Morrison to face any specific consequences.
"It's concerning that those who did know about this felt it was ok for it to be kept secret. Good governance requires people to speak up when our democratic processes are being undermined," he said.
'Very serious matter'
Rebekha Sharkie, another lower-house independent and long-term transparency advocate, described codifying the disclosure requirement as a straight-forward decision.
"Being a Minister of the Crown is steeped in history, so it's imperative that the public be made aware of such appointments and that they be gazetted," she said.
Independent Dai Le has also thrown her weight behind the idea, saying she supported any reforms which made government "fair, honest and transparent".
Senior Liberals have been particularly infuriated by Mr Morrison not disclosing his secret powers to ministers whose portfolios he co-opted, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who lived with his boss at times during the pandemic.
Independent MP Monique Ryan, who won Kooyong from Mr Frydenberg at the election, was more concerned about "what happens next to prevent this kind of secrecy" than immediate repercussions for Mr Morrison.
Dr Ryan also called for greater transparency into then-attorney-general Christian Porter's input into the scheme, and how the public service may have been implicated by Mr Morrison's move.
"This is a very serious matter," she said.
"We need further information about what actually happened, particularly which members of the government were involved, the role the former attorney-general played, and whether the public service was drawn in and to what extent.
"As a starting point I think the convention requiring the parliament being informed of every new minister sworn in by the Governor-General should be law."
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'Absolutely unnecessary'
Independent MP Sophie Scamps has publicly aired her support for Mr Morrison being referred to the privileges committee, and said a rule change should be explored.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, as a member of the highly-secretive privileges committee, could not comment on the matter.
Former energy minister Angus Taylor, whose portfolio was co-opted, on Friday insisted an apology from Mr Morrison was "absolutely unnecessary".
Former resources minister Keith Pitt, the only minister known to have been overruled by Mr Morrison using his secret powers, has backed calls for a royal commission, provided it explored all levels of government.