Moment Scott Morrison interrupts photo op to laugh at a reporter’s terrible pun

In a lighter moment during a gruelling campaign, Scott Morrison broke out laughing in the middle of one of his famous photo ops after overhearing a reporter recording her piece to camera just metres away.

Mr Morrison spent Thursday morning pledging millions to mental health and campaigning with Liberal MP Bridget Archer in her marginal Tasmanian seat of Bass. 

Following the morning’s announcement Mr Morrison stopped by Beauty Point Bowls Club with media cameras in tow for one of his signature photo opportunities. 

Pictured: Sky News reporter Andrea Crothers cracked up after the PM overheard her lawn bowls-inspired pun 

The Prime Minister paused his campaigning in the heavily contested seat of Bass to send a few down at the Beauty Point Bowling Club with TV crews

With the poise of a pro, Mr Morrison lined up the jack and prepared to roll a bowl. 

A metre or so away, Sky News host Andrea Crothers didn’t miss the opportunity to squeeze in a piece to camera.

‘Scott Morrison bowling his way through Bass for the fourth time…’ Ms Crothers started, but couldn’t continue after Mr Morrison began laughing at her terrible pun.

Ms Crothers then realised she’d been overheard and began laughing herself. 

Mr Morrison has become known as the king of photo opportunities, one of the reasons for his popular online moniker ‘Scotty from Marketing’.

The prime minister is famous for participating in made-for-TV opportunities where he tries his hand at a worker’s job in a factory or retail outlet, even sparking a popular twitter handle #ScottyFromPhotoOps. 

Tools for the job: Mr Morrison was accompanied by boom microphones and cameras on the green

Scott Morrison drills a hole at Norship shipyard engineering facility on Day 18 of the 2022 federal election campaign, in Cairns. Veteran broadcaster Neil Mitchell has asked the prime minister why he does ‘silly photo opportunities’ on radio

In February – before the election had been called – the prime minister was widely criticised after he washed the hair of a young woman at a hair salon on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula 

In Tasmania, earlier in the campaign, Mr Morrison was filmed struggling to open a whiskey barrel and stamping zinc at the Hobart Nyrstar smelter.

Most famously he washed the hair of a young woman in a Mornington Peninsula hair salon in February before the election had been called, widely criticised by commentators at the time.

‘The images of the Prime Minister’s hands massaging the apprentice’s scalp and temples stirred a visceral reaction in thousands of us, including me. Not in a good way,’ reacted former Liberal MP Julia Banks in an opinion column.

Mr Morrison during his infamous welding incident in February this year, when he removed his safety mask 

He also copped flak for an eye-sight endangering gaffe, which no blue-collar Australian would ever make.

Mr Morrison was seen lifting up his welding helmet before firing up his welder and exposing his retinas to the intense light. 

At the time opposition leader Anthony Albanese hit out at the PM, telling Nova ‘If you want someone to weld without a mask on and play a ukulele…kind of…then Scott’s your guy.’ 

‘I think people want him to do his job, and his job was to order enough vaccines and rapid antigen tests. His job was to plan (for) the crisis in aged care,’ the Labor leader said.

Mr Morrison draws whiskey from a barrel at Lark Whiskey Distillery on Day 19 of the 2022 federal election campaign, north of Hobart, Tasmania

Mr Morrison plays pool with residents at Lifestyle Communities Mount Duneed retirement village on Day 22 of the 2022 federal election campaign in South Geelong, Victoria

But the PM has since hit back at his critics, saying at the start of the month he did the photoshoots because he enjoyed learning what the country’s apprentices were up to.

‘I know you enjoy campaigning, but do you ever get sick of those silly photo opportunities?’ Top-rating 3AW breakfast host Neil Mitchell asked Mr Morrison. 

‘I don’t see them that way Neil,’ Mr Morrison responded.

‘Whether it’s cutting hair or working in tool shops or whatever – we’ve got 220,000 trade apprentices in trades right now, What I enjoy doing is standing there with an apprentice who shows me what they’re learning. And then I’ll have a go at it,’ Mr Morrison explained.

‘I’m trying to understand what they’re learning, and I’m really proud of what they’re doing.’