Below, I share a charming story from the Australian political scene, as reported in The Indian Express.
On June 4, 2020, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was giving a press conference in Googong, New South Wales. Mr. Morrison and some of the assembled journalists were situated on the edge of a lawn. The press conference was briefly interrupted when a man stepped out of the house connected to the lawn and said: “Can everyone get off the grass please.” Mr. Morrison obliged, stepping off the grass with all of the assembled journalists. Still concerned, the homeowner informed the Prime Minister and the journalists that he had just reseeded the lawn. After Mr. Morrison, his staff, and the assembled journalists fully vacated the lawn to the homeowner’s satisfaction, the homeowner apologized. Mr. Morrison gave the concerned lawn-owner a thumbs up, stating “That’s all good. Thanks.”
The Morrison lawn incident is a charming example of free society in action. A concerned citizen casually tells the Prime Minister of his country to get off his lawn. The Prime Minister kindly obliges. The press conference goes on and the citizen’s reseeded lawn is safe. Although I do not follow social media, news reports indicate that many users from Australia described the moment as being quintessentially Australian. While I cannot talk with first-hand knowledge of Australian political culture, I can say the lawn situation well-handled by both the Mr. Morrison and the homeowner.
You can watch the exchange below, courtesy of RTE News:
(RTE News / YouTube)