The whole nation may have been watching Scott Morrison’s arrival to Government House on Sunday morning but it was only a “noisy” few who managed to give him a personal greeting.
Dozens of protesters lined Dunrossil Drive in Canberra to demonstrate as the Prime Minister arrived to inform Governor-general David Hurley that the election will be held on May 21.
The Prime Minister did not have to speak to the crowd – or even hear their messages – as his well-secured vehicle was driven in and out of the government house compound.
The red ensign flags that have become a familiar sight at freedom protests were once again present, as were a couple of signs, including one reading “expose the pedophiles (sic)”.
Their messaging was mixed, with everything from anti-vax rhetoric through to arguments about corruption within Government.
One sign saying that the Prime Minister needed to dissolve parliament, which he effectively will be doing when he calls the election.
There were also reports the demonstrators were preparing a cooked breakfast.
“A couple of them are also cooking up a barbecue which is making the nation‘s media who are gathered here a little bit hungry, I have to tell you,” the ABC’s Henry Belot said.
Protesters were also loudly playing music, with ABC reporter Matthew Doran speculating a Top 40 radio station.
“There’s a couple of dozen protestexjmtzywrs. They have swelled throughout the morning but it’s not exactly a huge crowd, a couple of them have discovered the joys of megaphones which is delighting us quite a lot here at Government House,” Doran said.
News watchers on Sunday morning were treated to a blow-by-blow account the Prime Minister’s journey to Canberra to call the election.
This included footage across various channels of Morrison’s trip to Sydney airport, shots of his flight taking off, a cross to his flight landing, Morrison leaving the airport, the route his vehicle took from Canberra Airport to Government House, and the make of car he was being driven in.
Canberra’s “undulating hills” even got a mention on ABC News 24.
