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Five things to know about Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Australia's Prime Minister is in Auckland for his first official visit to New Zealand - and there are some things you should know about him. 

While Scott Morrison may be leader of one of the world's top 20 economies, you can't be blamed for not recognising the 50-year-old Prime Minister. 

Australia has had an unusually high turnover of leaders - seven in just 10 years - compared to four Prime Ministers in 10 years in New Zealand. 

It's meant that it can be difficult to keep up with Australia's PMs, and Mr Morrison is no exception. It was reported in December that leaders gathered for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires had difficulty recognising him. 

But Mr Morrison is an interesting politician; after all, he managed to win a fierce leadership battle in August last year where former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was voted out of leadership by his own Liberal Party. 

Scott Morrison became Prime Minister of Australia after a fierce leadership battle in August last year.
Scott Morrison became Prime Minister of Australia after a fierce leadership battle in August last year. Photo credit: AAP

Here are five things to know about him.

  1. Scott Morrison has come to be known as 'ScoMo'. The nickname, it's been reported, makes the Prime Minister seem more relatable, to counter his views that are often perceived as hard-line. 
  2. For example, 'ScoMo' is an evangelical Christian who campaigned against equality for LGBTQ people, voting against amending Australia's Marriage Act 1961 to allow same sex couples to marry. 
  3. He's been an MP since 2007, entering Australian Parliament as a representative in the New South Wales seat of Cook. In 2013, he became a minister under former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
  4. Mr Morrison has ties to New Zealand, having worked in tourism as director of New Zealand's Office of Tourism and Sport from 1998 to 2000. He was involved with the creation of the '100 percent pure New Zealand' campaign. 
  5. As Acting Home Affairs Minister, Mr Morrison announced in August last year a plan to block Huawei from building Australia's 5G network, similar to what New Zealand announced in November. 

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