finance minister, Mathias Cormann, was unaware that Morrison had appointed himself in a joint ministerial position. The resources minister, Keith Pitt, was aware of Morrison's self-appointment to the resources portfolio "sometime in 2021". David Littleproud, who was the agriculture minister in Morrison's government, criticised the self-appointments as "pretty ordinary". Later that day, the Governor-General's office confirmed that Morrison had been appointed to a number of ministerial offices, without stating which. As a change in the responsibilities of an existing minister, this had not required further swearing in but had been done by an administrative instrument; announcement of the appointments had been a matter for the government. Constitutional law professor Anne Twomey, however, could not trace such instruments and called the process "just bizarre". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ordered a search for them and is seeking legal advice from the solicitor-general. Leading members of the Morrison cabinet, not only Mathias Cormann but also Peter Dutton (then defence minister and now leader of the opposition), have said that they had not been aware of these appointments. Morrison initially declined to comment but later phoned 2GB to say that these three appointmentsthere might have been more, but he was unsurehad been "extraordinary measures" as "safeguards" during the Covid pandemic. He had got himself appointed as joint resources minister in order to be able to overrule a decision on gas exploration by the resources minister. The following day, 16 August, Albanese held a second press conference, confirming that Morrison was appointed to administer five departments in addition to his role administering the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Morrison was appointed to administer the Department of Health on 14 March 2020; the Department of Finance on 30 March 2020; the Department of Home Affairs on 6 May 2021, the Department of the Treasury on 6 May 2021, and the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on 15 April 2021. Documents relating to these appointments were released by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on 17 August. Albanese asked the Solicitor-General for an opinion on the validity of the appointment to the resources ministry. The report, released on 23 August, advised that this appointment had been lawful, but that its secrecy "fundamentally undermined" the principles of responsible government. Anthony Albanese announced an inquiry into Scott Morrison's ministerial positions, to be headed by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell. On 25 November 2022,