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Scott Morrison has explained why he risked blindness by trying to weld without a mask during an extraordinary photo-op blunder.
The Prime Minister diced with danger at a small business in Alice Springs on Saturday when he lifted his safety mask above his eyes just as he unleashed a blinding flash from a welding torch.
Footage of the incident was shared widely online by his political opponents including trade union boss Sally McManus who posted it with the caption 'what do the tradies of Australia think of this?'
Asked about the blunder on Sydney's Radio 2GB on Monday, Mr Morrison said: 'This was a pretty tricky little device I was trying to use. I hadn't used that one before.'
He then hit back at his critics, saying welding is not his job.
'So if people want to have a chip at me because I'm not a good welder, well, that's not my day job,' he said.
'And if all the narcs in the bubble want to have a crack at me, well, they can. But what I'm doing is showcasing the great work of our apprentices and small businesses.'
The PM wore a regulation welding safety visor during a visit to the workshop in the Northern Territory.
But he lifted the protective helmet moments before he touched the blazing arc of the welding torch to a metal beam.
His face lit up with the intense white light from the searing flame, which should only be viewed from behind the specially darkened screen.
The Prime Minister donned PPE including a safety visor during a visit to a workshop in Alice Springs but lifted the mask as he touched the blazing arc of a welding torch to a metal beam
Video showed a bystander desperately reaching out to try to bring down the mask but couldn't manage it in time as the 6000C spark erupted in his face.
Seconds earlier Morrison had cheerfully assured the tradie with him 'I've done this before, up in the Hunter.'
'On the tools again!' he added.
Eye damage from burns is a huge risk in welding and precautions to prevent it are taken extremely seriously.
The blunder drew comparisons with Donald Trump's defiant gazing at the eclipse without protective eyewear from the balcony of the White House in August 2017.
He looked three times, despite White House aids shouting, 'Don't look!'
Seconds earlier Morrison had cheerfully assured the tradie with him 'I've done this before, up in the Hunter'
Scott Morrison has explained why he risked blindness by trying to weld without a mask during an extraordinary photo-op blunder.
The Prime Minister diced with danger at a small business in Alice Springs on Saturday when he lifted his safety mask above his eyes just as he unleashed a blinding flash from a welding torch.
Footage of the incident was shared widely online by his political opponents including trade union boss Sally McManus who posted it with the caption 'what do the tradies of Australia think of this?'
Asked about the blunder on Sydney's Radio 2GB on Monday, Mr Morrison said: 'This was a pretty tricky little device I was trying to use. I hadn't used that one before.'
He then hit back at his critics, saying welding is not his job.
'So if people want to have a chip at me because I'm not a good welder, well, that's not my day job,' he said.
'And if all the narcs in the bubble want to have a crack at me, well, they can. But what I'm doing is showcasing the great work of our apprentices and small businesses.'
The PM wore a regulation welding safety visor during a visit to the workshop in the Northern Territory.
But he lifted the protective helmet moments before he touched the blazing arc of the welding torch to a metal beam.
His face lit up with the intense white light from the searing flame, which should only be viewed from behind the specially darkened screen.
The Prime Minister donned PPE including a safety visor during a visit to a workshop in Alice Springs but lifted the mask as he touched the blazing arc of a welding torch to a metal beam
Video showed a bystander desperately reaching out to try to bring down the mask but couldn't manage it in time as the 6000C spark erupted in his face.
Seconds earlier Morrison had cheerfully assured the tradie with him 'I've done this before, up in the Hunter.'
'On the tools again!' he added.
Eye damage from burns is a huge risk in welding and precautions to prevent it are taken extremely seriously.
The blunder drew comparisons with Donald Trump's defiant gazing at the eclipse without protective eyewear from the balcony of the White House in August 2017.
He looked three times, despite White House aids shouting, 'Don't look!'
Seconds earlier Morrison had cheerfully assured the tradie with him 'I've done this before, up in the Hunter'
