Scott Morrison, who recently told churchgoers "don't trust in governments", has made his first appearance in the Parliament since losing government at the May election.
The former prime minister's return to be sworn in as the re-elected member for Cook was delayed after skipping the first sitting week to attend a speaking event in Japan.
Mr Morrison, who continues to earn a backbencher's salary of $211,250 for as long as he remains a sitting MP, spent his first question time of the new Parliament in silence, crossing his arms and periodically playing with an iPad.
He briefly spoke with his former factional lieutenant and cabinet minister Alex Hawke in the seat next to him. The pair were banished to the far corner by new Liberal leader Peter Dutton after he reshaped his frontbench and demoted key figures of the former prime minister's inner circle.
Mr Morrison's appearance in the chamber was minimal - only turning up for his swearing in and question time. He did not wear a mask, like all but five of his Liberal and National colleagues, after famously donning a mask emblazoned with the Australian flag throughout the pandemic as prime minister.
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His designated seat at the very back of the opposition benches sat empty all last week while he instead attended a conservative leaders' summit in Tokyo held on Thursday and Friday.
His only other public appearance since the election was to deliver a sermon at Margaret Court's Pentecostal church in Western Australia, where he proclaimed: "We don't trust in governments. We don't trust in the United Nations, thank goodness."
As a former prime minister, Mr Morrison is entitled to a generous pension, taxpayer-funded office with staff, travel and other expenses, but only after he leaves the Parliament and his backbench entitlements.
Mr Morrison has not responded to questions on whether he will remain in Parliament.
Climate 200 was considering backing a teal independent candidate in Cook. The firm that ran polling for the group said the timing could be a factor in whether the Liberals retain the seat, with chances of losing the seat much higher in the next few months than if Mr Morrison could be persuaded to remain for another year.
Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
