“Get off my lawn,” the prime minister had to laugh, after one of the more bizarre encounters he’s had with a voter.
It happened during a press briefing Scott Morrison was giving in Googong, New South Wales. He was there to spruik the Australian government’s new homes scheme.
While speaking to a gaggle of surrounding journalists, he was interrupted by the owner of what appears to be a new home. They were standing on his new front lawn. And there are many suburban Australian amateur lawn enthusiasts you will sympathise with him.
“Can everyone get off the grass please?” the unnamed man pleads from his front porch.
“Sure,” a gracious prime minister responds immediately. “Let’s just move back from there,” he instructs the media pack.
“Come on!” the man protests before adding, “Hey guys, I’ve just reseeded that.”
Watch the video of the prime minister’s ‘get off my lawn’ moment
“Please, off the… thing,” the prime minister insists to the journalists.
“Sorry mate,” the homeowner politely tells the leader of his country, giving the thumbs up.
Morrison replies with his own thumbs up, “It’s all good. Thanks.”
After taking a pause to collect his thoughts, smiling and probably thinking to himself, “Did that just happen?” the prime minister picks up right where he left off.
Later, he can be seen laughing about the incident
“Make sure you get off that bloke’s lawn,” the prime minister tells someone off camera.
“Get off my lawn,” he then jokes to amused government colleagues.
Home build and renovation grants to kick-start economy
What Prime Minister Morrison was trying to say before the ‘get off my lawn’ incident, was that the government will be offering large grants to home owners. The new homebuilder scheme is designed to help revive the economy following the coronavirus crisis.
Grants of $25,000 will be available for singles and couples to either build or renovate their home.
The work must be for the owner’s principal residence to qualify. New builds must be on homes, including land, valued at $750,000 or less. For renovations the work must be to the value of at least $125,000. Maximum income limits also apply. Contracts must be executed by 31 December and work commence within three months.
The program is projected to cost taxpayers $688 million dollars, but it appears to have come too late for the ‘get off my lawn’ guy and his built new home.