Five things you need to know about Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison has been named as the new Liberal Party leader and on track to become the 30th Prime Minister of Australia, after Malcolm Turnbull’s fate was sealed by a party room ballot.

LIVE COVERAGE: Scott Morrison elected new Liberal Leader

Scott Morrison elected new Liberal LeaderPundits earlier speculated the former treasurer could be an ideal compromise between the conservative and moderate factions of the Liberal Party.

'Sco-Mo' was identified as a strong contender, with the potential to mop up Turnbull’s votes as well as steal some of Peter Dutton’s.

So how much do we know about the 50-year-old father-of-two who is now tasked with running our country.

Here are five key things about Morrison you need to know.

An evangelical Christian

Mr Morrison grew up in a Christian household with both of his parents running youth programs for the local church.

He met his wife Jenny at church when he was just 12. The pair began dating when they were 16 and married when they were 21. They have two daughters.

Mr Morrison worships at a Hillsong-style Pentecostal church in Sydney.

Comfortable upbringing

Morrison grew up in Bronte in Sydney’s east and went to the prestigious Sydney Boys High School. When he met his wife, Jenny, who was living in the city’s south, she reportedly used to tease him for coming from the “posh” part of town.

During his early years, Mr Morrison had a short-lived career as a child actor, when he starred in several television commercials.

His father was a policeman and was also involved in politics, serving on the local council for 16 years.

At the age of nine, the future treasurer was learning the ropes, handing out how-to-vote cards for his dad.

Career in tourism

After graduating from university with a degree in applied economic geography, Mr Morrison worked for the Property Council of Australia before going on to build a career in tourism.

Working for tourism in New Zealand, he helped create the successful "100% Pure New Zealand" campaign.

Moving back to Australia, it was in 2000 that Mr Morrison first took up politics full time, becoming the state director of the NSW Liberal party.

But Morrison went back to his career in tourism in 2004, when the then prime minister John Howard appointed him the inaugural director of Tourism Australia.

It was Morrison who oversaw the controversial "So where the bloody hell are you?" advertising campaign which rocketed model Lara Bingle to fame.

Tumultuous start

Mr Morrison was the Liberal Party’s second choice to contest the 2007 election in the south east Sydney seat of Cook. But when their preselected candidate Michael Towke was accused of branch stacking, he was dis-endorsed.

The allegations were later proved to be false but it was too late for Towke and Morrison went on to win the seat.

In his maiden speech, Morrison paid tribute to British anti-slavery figure William Wilberforce, and also to Desmond Tutu and U2 singer Bono for their humanitarian work in Africa.

He also quoted the Bible.

“So what values do I derive from my faith?” Morrison said. “My answer comes from Jeremiah, chapter 9:24: I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord.”

Immigration minister

When the coalition came to power in 2013, Mr Morrison earned his stripes in the tough role of Minister for Immigration and Border Protection.

He implemented “Sovereign Borders”, an initiative he said would stop people smuggling and asylum seekers deaths at sea.

In November 2014, the Australian Human Rights Commission delivered a report which found Morrison failed to act in the best interests of children in detention during his time as minister.

Then prime minister Tony Abbott dismissed the report as being politically motivated.

Oh, and we nearly forgot...