Put Trust in God, Not Governments: Former Australian PM Says to Churchgoers

Former Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, flanked by his wife Jenny Morrison and daughters Lily Morrison and Abbey Morrison concedes defeat following the results of the federal election during the Liberal Party election night event at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, on May 21, 2022. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken at a church service calling on worshippers to put their faith in God and not governments or the United Nations.

Morrison was a guest speaker at a birthday event at the Pentecostal Victory Life Centre in Perth, Australia, appearing alongside former tennis star Margaret Court—founder of the church.

In a 50-minute address, the former prime minister spoke about mental health, saying he spoke with young people who were anxious about the climate and environmental future of the world.

He also said it was easy to get “very involved” in world events, such as the war in Ukraine, the stepping down of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“We can become very obsessed about these issues, and they’re important issues ... But as Christians, we have a bigger hope. And we do not surrender our future and say all is lost,” he said. “We believe that God is sovereign over all things. And so we don’t have anxieties about the future.”

Speaking to his Faith

Morrison also spoke about his faith in God.

“God’s kingdom will come. It is in his hands. We trusted him. We don’t trust in governments. We don’t trust in the United Nations, thank goodness,” he said.

“We don’t trust in all of these things—fine as they might be and as important as the role that they play—believe me, I’ve worked in it, and they are important. But as someone who’s been in it, if you are putting your faith in those things like I put my faith in the Lord, you are making a mistake.”

Morrison’s Liberal-National Coalition lost the May federal election to the Labor Party and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and now remains a backbench MP.

The former prime minister has been criticised for struggling to balance the interests of Moderate and Right-leaning factions, which resulted in him trying to hold onto the vote of more conservative-leaning and suburban voters while also appealing to the interests of the inner-city voter.

Yet, this approach failed in the face of “teal” and Australian Greens candidates who campaigned hard on climate change action, eventually severing the Coalition from several inner-city seats across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.