Former prime minister John Howard says Scott Morrison made a big mistake by not making public his appointment to five additional portfolios during the pandemic.

The Liberal Party elder, who has just released a new book, A Sense of Balance, says he didn’t believe it was necessary for the former PM to take control of the portfolios.

“When you keep something secret, all sorts of conspiracy theories generate,” he told Gareth Parker on 6PR Breakfast.

“The calls for him to resign are superficial and I don’t agree with them.”

Howard also touched on geo-political issues affecting Australia, including in the US and China.

“We need to avoid any schoolboy points scoring in our relationship with China,” he added.

LISTEN 👇 to John Howard’s wide-ranging chat with Gareth Parker