Scott Morrison: All you need to know about Australia’s next prime minister

Scott Morrison was elected by the ruling Liberal Party to become Australia’s next – and 30th – prime minister.

The 50-year-old overcame Peter Dutton, who was the key challenger to incumbent PM Malcolm Turnbull, to win a leadership ballot by 45 votes to 40.

He is expected to be sworn in by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove after Mr Turnbull officially resigns.

Born in Sydney in 1968, Mr Morrison has been Australia’s Treasurer – the equivalent of the UK’s Chancellor – since September 2015.

He was appointed to the frontbench after the 2010 election, before being promoted to the Cabinet by Tony Abbott three years later, taking on the the role of Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

In that role, Mr Morrison launched Operation Sovereign Borders, a tough military-led operation aimed at stopping illegal boats carrying asylum seekers from arriving in Australia – a policy which attracted huge media attention.

It was credited with eliminating maritime arrivals – but also attracted criticism from refugee activists and human rights groups.

A biography on the Australian Treasury website reads: “As Treasurer, his achievements have included reducing the deficit, getting debt under control, maintaining Australia’s AAA credit rating, record jobs growth, cutting corporate and personal income taxes, ensuring multinationals pay their fair share of tax and reforming Australia’s banking and financial system.”

After last year’s referendum on same-sex marriage, Mr Morrison, a church-goer, said he would back a new “religious protections” bill.

Before beginning a career in politics, Mr Morrison worked in tourism and was managing director of Tourism Australia between 2004 and 2006.

Better-known as ScoMo, he lives in Sutherland in Sydney’s south with his wife Jenny and their two young daughters. He supports the NRL Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, and says he his a fan of Australian musician Tina Arena.