Morrison fought against every move to provide proper care for refugee children in the camps despite the evidence the internment policy was immensely damaging to the mental health and wellbeing of children.
He led the creation of laws that prevented health professionals speaking out about what was happening in the camps. His reasoning was that if the children were treated humanely it would mean the boats would keep arriving.
At one point this meant doctors at an Australian hospital caring for a refugee child had to stop border services from entering the building and forcibly taking the sick child back to a detention centre.
This is Scott Morrison and his side kick Peter Dutton's way of dealing with children in dire circumstances – let's see if we can be even more cruel and uncaring. Yet here he is, re-elected and leading the country.
In Brexit Britain, the equivalent is Boris Johnson who wants to succeed Theresa May as prime minister even though he has made a mess of everything he touches while rejoicing in gleeful cruelty to the defenceless.
Along with his political twin, Nigel Farage, he has deliberately misled the British public with lies about Brexit. The fear mongering that the country was going to be overrun by foreign immigrants was callous and deliberate.
Both have made remarks about Muslim women that are cruel and demeaning. These are strong indicators that neither should be allowed near to positions of power.
Why do people vote for the callous and cruel - the Trump, Morrison, Farage, Johnson - when there are some many other better people to choose from? Certainly, the trick of talking up fears and then presenting yourself as the only potential saviour is one of the oldest in the book but why in this day and age would people fall for such an obvious scam?
Is it that our collective memories are so short that the past slips away and we only see the here and now and overlook the way leaders have behaved last year or even five minutes ago?
There is a theory that people want leaders who will decide things for them because this separates them from any guilt about cruelty exercised by those in power.
But there is hope, as this notion is confounded by the huge numbers of people around the world who protest and challenge leaders who enact policies that are cruel to children. Long may it continue.
Terry Sarten (aka Tel) is a writer, musician and social worker by trade.
