Hell hath no fury than a man whose freshly seeded lawn is being trampled on by a pack of people.
Members of the press learned that lesson this morning in the New South Wales town of Googong, about 25km east of Canberra, in the funniest way.
While addressing journalists to outline the government’s new HomeBuilder grant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was confronted with a frustrated resident who came out of his house.
“Can you guys get off the lawn please?” the man yelled, interrupting Morrison mid-sentence.
“Hey guys, I’ve just reseeded that,” he added, pointing to the grass that reporters, cameramen and photographers were crowded on.
Morrison immediately asked the press to move forward onto the road.
“Sorry, man,” the resident offered.
“It’s all good, thanks,” Morrison replied, giving him the thumbs up – a conciliatory gesture that the man returned.
Nothing wrong with having pride in your lawn… @9NewsAUS #auspol pic.twitter.com/mQ5eqBmnvC
— Jonathan Kearsley (@jekearsley) June 4, 2020
Speaking later on 2GB radio, the PM said “people are very house proud” and explained that “this bloke had just built his house and all the media was standing on part of his lawn”.
“And so, he wasn’t yelling at me but he came and said ‘get off my lawn.’ So I ushered them all off the lawned area and he was quite happy then, he said thanks and went back inside.
“So, it was quite funny actually.”
After the brief interruption, the media conference continued, with the PM explaining details of the already controversial $25,000 payment designed to support the struggling construction sector during the coronavirus crisis.
The scheme allows couples with a combined income of $200,00 to secure a $25,000 grant to build a new home or for major renovations if the contract is worth over $150,000.
“In the short-term, we know that in the residential building construction industry that on the other side of September, the pipeline of works that they’ve been working on will really start to dry up quickly,” Morrison said.
“That means jobs, not just for tradies and apprentices but all the other homes that feed into that industry, and all the industries that depend on that, the retail jobs and the community more broadly.
“That’s we thought it was important that mart of the many measures and supports we’re putting into our economy at the moment, supporting our home building industry.
“And not just new homes but significant renovation of homes, knock downs and rebuilds.”
For families dreaming of a new home, or of a significant renovation of their existing one, the stimulus will help make it a reality, Morrison said.
This article originally appeared on Over60.