The 'unburdened' farewell of the 'truly formidable' daggy dad

It is not a small moment to mark the exit of Scott Morrison, ScoMo, the daggy dad PM, and the man Anthony Albanese describes as a "truly formidable opponent".

A deeply flawed leader, accused bully and self-described "bulldozer" who on Tuesday stressed "good intentions" and "given all" with "plenty of scars" to show for it.

There were no confessions of the soul nor a list of regret. Nothing on his secret ministries, robodebt and that Hawaiian holiday. Not here. Not now. More "helpful reflections", emotional thank yous and lighthearted references to not wishing to "injure reputations" by naming everyone in Parliament who helped in him in his 16-year and two-week political career.

He wants to you know he ran on the field and is not one of those "timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat". He described being cleansed by his deep Christian faith.

"I leave this place appreciative and thankful and unburdened by offences and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political lives," Mr Morrison told Parliament.

Respect for the office of prime minister was the name of the game on Tuesday, even as he was the one who used the top job to inexplicably appoint himself to secret ministries.

Mr Morrison led, with state and territory leaders, the nation through big and difficult social, economic and medical pandemic decisions like lockdowns and what was a race to get vaccines.

"Today's not a day to dwell on that. Today is a day to say that everyone went into those processes with good intentions," Mr Albanese said.

"You must have gone through some really difficult times in trying to reassure yourself that the decisions that were being made - big decisions - were the right ones."

Mr Morrison was thoughtful on failings.

"I suspect that much of our disillusion with politics today and our institutions is that we have put too much faith in them. At the end of the day, the state and the market are just run by imperfect people, like all of us," he said.

It was left to Peter Dutton, the some-time rival and now leader, to point out his legacy and sacrifices, saying he had served his country with "great distinction."

Observing mostly sternly from his seat in the House, the Prime Minister smiled only twice while Mr Morrison spoke. Once when his predecessor offered congratulations for his recent engagement and the other time when Mr Morrison busted out daggy dad Taylor Swift bingo references and unveiled a ScoMo friendship bracelet.

"See? I'm actually a true New Romantic after all. I can assure you there is no Bad Blood," Mr Morrison quipped.

One day, the Labor leader will be making his own farewell in the House in front of family, friends, staff and dignitaries.

Respect for the office is everything. He thanked "Scott" for his service, thanked the Morrison family on behalf of the nation and wished him every success.

Mr Morrison is leaving Parliament at a time of his choosing well after an election of his losing. His legacy is still being written but is marked by his "miracle" 2019 win, his securing of AUKUS, his pandemic responses, his standing up to China, his wrangling of the Nationals over net zero, his push for Operation Sovereign Borders, his role in the robodebt scandal, and his injudicious holiday arrangements.

He said his religion gives him the faith to "forgive, but also to be honest about my own failures and shortcomings."

In no way did he list them, but that is now for other forums.