Scott Morrison has announced he is retiring from political life to move into the corporate world.
The former prime minister said on Tuesday he would be leaving federal parliament at the end of February to take on a new role involving "a series of global strategic advisory roles and private boards, focussed on the US and Indo-Pacific".
He said his family had "sacrificed a great deal" to support his political career and he looked forward to spending more time with them, as well as being more active in his Church community.
Morrison became Australia's 30th prime minister after winning a Liberal Party leadership spill in 2018 and then leading the party to a 2019 federal election victory.
Morrison lost the 2022 election, before resigning as leader of the Liberal party on 21 May that year.
His political life, including his prime ministership, had some unusual and controversial moments. Here are some of the most memorable.
When he said he 'didn't hold a hose' during the 2019-2020 bushfires
After facing criticism for taking a holiday to Hawaii during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, Morrison announced he would be returning to the country, but said his ability to contribute to firefighting efforts was limited: "I don't hold a hose, mate. And I don't sit in the control room."
The remark sparked criticism and followed him to the election campaign of 2022, including when protesters held signs reminding him of the phrase during a campaign appearance.
When bushfire survivors didn't want to shake his hand
When Morrison visited fire-ravaged communities in NSW in the aftermath of the bushfires, he was met by some residents who refused to shake his hand.
After taking some photos with locals, some vented their frustration with the bushfire response.
One resident called Morrison an "idiot", while another shouted that he would be getting no votes from the community.
Cobargo local Zoey Salucci-McDermott — who Morrison appeared to awkwardly force into a handshake — said she would only shake his hand if more money was given to the local firefighting service.
Morrison also tried to shake the hand of a firefighter who had lost his home.
"I don't really want to shake your hand," the firefighter said, before walking away.
Welding, hairwashing, tackling: viral campaign moments
There was also the time he accidentally crash-tackled a child at the Devonport Strikers Soccer Ground during the 2022 federal election campaign in Tasmania.
And when he washed a woman's hair while campaigning in the Labor-held seat of Dunkley on the Mornington Peninsula.
But one of his most viral moments was when he was shown removing his safety helmet during a welding exercise, with the subsequent flash captured on camera.
Unions and Labor jumped on the moment.
The time he described a Robodebt report's findings as "political lynching"
In 2015, Morrison served as social services minister and helped establish the Robodebt scheme, which issued hundreds of thousands of incorrect debt notices to low-income Australians.
After the robodebt royal commission later found that Morrison had "allowed cabinet to be misled" on the legality of the scheme, .
"The latest attacks on my character by the government in relation to this report is just a further attempt ... to discredit me and my service to our country during one of the most difficult periods our country has faced since the Second World War," Morrison said.
"This campaign of political lynching has once again included the weaponisation of a quasi-legal process to launder the government's political vindictiveness. They need to move on."
When he took on multiple ministerial portfolios
In August 2022, it was revealed he had appointed himself minister of health, home affairs, treasury, industry and finance at various times during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021.
A report conducted by former High Court justice Virginia Bell labelled his appointments "bizarre" and "unnecessary" and found that he had undermined public trust in government.
After that report was released, Morrison said: "These decisions were taken during an extremely challenging period, where there was a need for considerable urgency".
When he cleared up the Engadine Maccas rumours
In 2018 a tweet emerged claiming Morrison suffered a bowel function mishap at a fast food restaurant after his NRL team, the Cronulla Sharks, lost the Super League grand final in 1997.
The rumour spread so far that Morrison felt compelled to address it on The Kyle and Jackie O Show in July 2021.
"It is the biggest urban myth ever," he said, adding he always maintained it was untrue, and that he found it "incredibly amusing" and would joke about it.
The man who started the rumour — Rowan Dix, otherwise known as musician Joyride — later came clean.
"I just tweeted it," he revealed in a podcast.
"The intention was never for it to be a rumour. It was just sh*tposting."
When he presented a lump of coal to parliament
"This is coal," Morrison said while holding up a lump of coal during a parliamentary speech in 2017.
"Don't be afraid. Don’t be scared, it won’t hurt you. It’s coal," said the then treasurer.
Scott Morrison holds a lump of coal during Question Time in the House of Representatives on 9 February 2017. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
His critics would later use the moment to denounce his record on climate change throughout his prime ministership.
That Grace Tame photo
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame stood stony-faced during a photograph with the then-prime minister at The Lodge, appearing reluctant to shake his hand at a morning tea for Australian of the Year finalists in early 2022.
Tame had been a vocal critic of the way Morrison and his government handled women's safety issues.
Scott Morrison and Grace Tame at a morning tea for recipients of the 2022 Australian of the Year Awards at The Lodge in Canberra. Source: AAP / Mick Tsickas
Separately, in 2021 Morrison was criticised and accused of only taking serious action over former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' rape allegation after viewing it from the lens of being a father of daughters.
