Morrison defended himself by saying the Covid-19 pandemic justified it.
"I believed it was necessary to have authority, to have what were effectively emergency powers, to exercise in extreme situations that would be unforeseen ... The fact that ministers were unaware of these things is actually proof of my lack of interference or intervention in any of their activities."
Professor Anne Twomey, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sydney, said that what Morrison did was legal but unusual as the Australian Constitution is not very clear about executive power.
Twomey told SBS: "They trusted politicians, and they trusted in a system of conventions and practices that had been built up."
Morrison could become involved in these roles without telling the public, his Cabinet and even the relevant minister. The Governor-General did what Morrison wanted without an official ceremony.
Twomey said: "A gentleman, a good chap follows the rules of cricket and that's the expectation that there was here. But now that we've seen that that expectation can be defeated, it is probably a good reason to change the system."
The Westminster system relies on benign practitioners respecting traditions and normal ways of doing things. A leader prepared to trample over niceties can do so.
Transparency is important for public trust and Morrison acted both secretively and evasively, to gain the ability to override minister's decisions.
Morrison's move sounds like a tune from Donald Trump's playbook; an act of populist recklessness that disrespects democracy.
Morrison's behaviour during his leadership kept raising questions about his character and judgment and this is a bizarre footnote on his legacy.
Character, trust, the quality of people who want to stand for office, how far they might get and what they might be prepared to do are all relevant considerations for voters.
New Zealand's current political drama over MPs Gaurav Sharma and Sam Uffindell and bullying touches on these themes though in a less dramatic way than the Morrison controversy.
Bullying itself, whether in a workplace, school, or in other situations, is a widespread problem and cases should be looked into when they come up.
But, there are much more important issues that the public would want the parties to focus on than the two MPs' sagas.
The cases being dealt with by Labour and National involve backbench MPs, not ministers with Cabinet responsibilities, or shadow spokespeople in the Opposition with a chance of taking over those portfolios.
Most Kiwis would not have heard of either MP before their problems surfaced.
Essentially the disputes are career stumbles for the individuals involved, and unwanted distractions for their parties.
