Scott Morrison 'doesn't believe' he has told a lie in public life, rejects Emmanuel Macron, Malcolm Turnbull 'sledges'

 

Emmanuel Macron said "I know" when asked if he thought Scott Morrison lied to him over the dumped $90 billion submarine deal and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull backed the French President, now Mr Morrison has declared the opposite is true.

The Prime Minister says he "doesn't believe" he has told a lie in public life.

The significant statement, from a grilling on Melbourne local radio station 3AW, comes as trust again emerges as a major election theme.

Asked by host Neil Mitchell if he's ever told a lie in public life, Mr Morrison responded, "I don't believe I have, no."

“Just because you ask a question, doesn't mean the person has to tell you the absolute truth”.-Barnaby Joyce

Mr Morrison's overseas trip to the G20 and COP26 climate summit was somewhat derailed this month after difficult encounters with the French President in the wake of the new AUKUS trilateral grouping and dumping of the $90 billion French submarine contract.

After awkward public encounters, Mr Macron said Mr Morrison had broken the trust between the two countries in severing the Australia-French deal, and when particularly asked by an Australian journalist if he thought the Australian Prime Minister had lied to him, he pointedly said, "I do not think, I know."

Mr Turnbull subsequently said Mr Morrison, his former treasurer, had "a reputation for lying".

Asked on Friday by Mr Mitchell, "How does it feel when a former mate, Malcolm Turnbull, calls you a serial liar?" the Prime Minister tried to shrug it off.

"Look, I mean, it's politics. People take sledges at me all the time ... I've learned in public life over a long period of time to not have a thin skin, to not get bitter," Mr Morrison said.