Scott Morrison gives masterclass in political malleability over aged care Covid deaths | Katharine Murphy

The prime minister stresses the importance of premiers' political accountability - but when it comes to the commonwealth, he is searching for a leave pass

Scott Morrison and his ministers have developed a preoccupation with attribution. Take one, obvious example. Australia's second wave of coronavirus infections is referred to on high rotation as the Victorian wave", lest anyone be confused about the origins of the outbreak.

Over the past couple of days, the most senior Victorian in the Morrison government, Josh Frydenberg, has been pursuing project attribution down to the footnotes. What we're dealing with here is hundreds of new cases in Victoria every day, 97-to-98% of new cases in Australia are coming from Victoria alone," the treasurer said last week.