The admission is the first time a prime minister or former prime minister of Australia has spoken publicly about using medication to deal with the huge demands of the job and is contained in Morrison’s new book,Plans for Your Good:A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison.Alex Ellinghausen
While Morrison previously promised the book would not be a typical political autobiography,many readers will be stunned by the extent and depth of Morrison’s Christian faith. The book frequently quotes Bible passages,and the role of God in the former prime minister’s life is the dominant theme.
The book also sets out Morrison’s version of events about the lead-up to the and his recollection of pulling together the AUKUS deal,including a detailed explanation of how French President Emmanuel Macron was informed that the contract for a conventionally powered French submarine was imperilled.
In an interview with this masthead before the release of the book next week,Morrison confirmed he had started taking prescription medication in 2021 but declined to say which medication or brand he had taken,adding that he had got through 2020 but in 2021 “that’s when the pile on really got under way”.
“I tend to respond quite well in a crisis and can be very focused in it ... it wasn’t the fact that I had to make a thousand decisions every day,” he said.
“I’m pretty high functioning in those environments and staff and colleagues will say the same. But when you’re trying to do all that,while trying to land AUKUS,we’re dealing with the Chinese ... and then I’ve got what started in February[2021,following Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations] … we had what was a pretty oppressive campaign of vilification going on daily and that was a pretty tough period.
“That’s when the premiers,particularly[then-Queensland premier Annastacia] Palaszczuk started to amp up a bit. And COVID went into a different phase,2020 was a pretty co-operative year,2021 it changed. And Labor then,they did what was required.”
Morrison said that former Labor speechwriter Don Watson’s biography of Paul Keating,Recollections of a Bleeding Heart,was “the best biography I have ever read ... but he does chronicle a fairly dark period for Paul” during the former prime minister’s term in the top office.
“I’ve never heard Paul confirm or deny[that he was depressed] ... personally,I found that the most endearing and encouraging,when I found myself going through similar difficult times,to know that people[who] had lived in that building[the Lodge] before had gone through similar difficult times,” he said.
Morrison added that people treated politicians like they were made of stone,but they were not and to cope with the demands of high political office “we put on a brave face”.
“I have no doubt that the halls of parliament are filled with people going through enormous mental anguish on a daily basis. And that’s not just the stuff they’re dealing with in their professional life,but the impact that has,you know,being away from their family and all of this. It’s not a complaint,it’s just true and I think we’ve got to sort of be transparent about that.”
Morrison writes that as the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic mounted,and the pressures dealing with China and putting together the AUKUS deal grew,his anxiety got worse.
When he finally saw a doctor,they were “amazed I had lasted as long as I had before seeking help”.
“Without this help,serious depression would have manifested. What impacted me was the combination of pure physical exhaustion with the unrelenting and callous brutality of politics and media attacks,” he writes.
“As a politician I know this goes with the territory. That’s not a complaint or even an accusation. It’s just reality. Politicians are not made of stone,yet they’re often treated as though they are,including by each other.”
Describing his personal turmoil,Morrison writes:“You dread the future and you can’t get out of bed. It can shut you down mentally and physically. It robs you of your joy and can damage relationships. I know this from personal experience”.
Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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