"This is serious stuff": Kochie's on-air clash with PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been involved in an on-air spat with Sunrise host David Koch over Australia's unemployment rate.
During a segment, Kochie ended the chat with ScoMo by asking about a “lighthearted story” of a Sydney council threatening not to empty the rubbish of a resident who has plastered anti-ScoMo stickers on his bins.
The stickers show Mr Morrison holding a lump of coal in parliament with the phrase "bin him".
When the Sunrise host asked the Prime Minister what he thought of the stickers, the PM immediately tried to deflect the question.
“I will leave that to the mayor of Hornsby,” Mr Morrison said, before he continued on.
“What I’m focused on is ensuring our economic plans continues to work, unemployment down four per cent …,” he said.
Koch then spoke over the top of him, saying “yeah yeah yeah”.
“No David, not yeah, yeah yeah. This is serious stuff,” Mr Morrison retaliated.
Kochie fired back saying, “It is serious, but you’d made the point earlier on that. We’re trying to finish with something a bit light hearted.”
“I’ll let him [the Hornsby mayor] deal with taking the bins out. I’ll get on with strengthening the economy,” Mr Morrison said in response.
Koch made one parting remark as he farewelled the Prime Minister, saying, “We all have to keep smiling.”
Philip Ruddock, the mayor in question from Hornsby Shire Council, defended his council's decision not to empty the bins on Wednesday.
He told 2GB that stickers of any form weren’t allowed “on public furniture”.
“Political advertising should be done on private property,” he said.
Image credits: Sunrise