‘Bulldozer’: Scott Morrison’s frank admission in eleventh-hour pitch

Scott Morrison has made a frank admission, marking a major shift in rhetoric as the leaders head into the final week of the campaign.

Speaking to reporters in the ultra-marginal seat of Chisholm on Friday, Mr Morrison blamed the pandemic as to why Australians hadn’t seen him in “other gears”.

“Over the last three years, particularly the last two, what Australians have needed from me going through this pandemic has been strength and resilience,” the Prime Minister said.

“Now, I admit that hasn’t enabled Australians to see a lot of other gears in the way I work.

“And I know Australians know that I can be a bit of a bulldozer when it comes to issues and I suspect you guys know that too.”

His candour was in response to a question on whether part of his problem was that he kept telling people what they should know rather than listening.

Mr Morrison insisted the way he had approached the Prime Ministership was required in order secure deals such as the AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement.

But he conceded he will need to move away from his “bulldozer” tactics moving forward.

Camera Icon Scott Morrison has made a significant shift during a press conference in Melbourne. Jason Edwards Credit: News Corp Australia

“As we go into this next period on the other side of this election, I know there are things that are going to have to change with the way I do things,” Mr Morrison admitted.

“Because we are moving into a different time.

“We’re moving into a time of opportunity and working from the strong platform of strength that we’ve built and saved in our economy in these last three years.”

More than 1.2m Australians have cast their vote early, suggesting many people have already made up their minds about the Prime Minister.

The 11th hour language change indicates the Prime Minister understands his messaging over the past five weeks has not been cutting through to voters.

Instead he’s urged Australians voters to focus on the medium term, promising there will be better days ahead.

“The last three years, they have been incredibly tough. The next three to five years will be much better,” Mr Morrison said.

“We have learnt many lessons. Sure we haven’t got everything right, I haven’t got everything right.

“We have been in one of the most extraordinary times known and there have been so many lessons learned and that’s going to enable us to be better in the future.”

Camera Icon Mr Morrison said Australia could not risk putting Anthony Albanese into the Lodge. Jason Edwards Credit: News Corp Australia

But that didn’t stop the Prime Minister from again putting the boot into Anthony Albanese for being a “complete loose unit”.

Unveiling a slew of slew of supply chain resiliency initiatives, the Prime Minister sought to highlight the Coalition has submitted 27 policies to the parliamentary budget office while Labor has not submitted one.

“Twenty-seven plans for the future to make things better and to make things stronger,” Mr Morrison said.

“That’s what this job is all about – there’s never just one thing or two things you got to do, you got to be doing things everyday and you got to be across many, many issues. That’s why you can’t afford to have someone who’s loose in The Lodge.

“You have got to have someone who knows how to work across all of these issues and how government works.”