New Zealand band Dragon has slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison's ukulele rendition of its hit song.
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In a story aired on Nine's 60 Minutes on Sunday, Mr Morrison played the band's April Sun in Cuba while sitting around the dinner table with his family.
Dragon accused the prime minister of putting the band back in the headlines "for all the wrong reasons".
"It is a cynical move for a politician to co-opt music, in an attempt to humanise themselves come election time," Dragon's statement said.
The band also referred to Scott Morrison's trip to Hawaii during the 2019-20 bushfire crisis.
"Maybe if his trip to Hawaii had not been cut short, he could have learnt the lyrics to the rest of the chorus: Take me where the April sun/Gonna treat me so right, so right, so right."
Mr Morrison's personal standing has taken a hit in recent months, and Labor has repeatedly raised questions about his honesty and integrity. A series of polls shows the coalition government trailing Labor ahead of the federal election due by late May.
Also during the program, his wife said he was wrongly perceived as lacking empathy when he is actually focused and task-orientated.
"He's all about problem-solving so that can come across sometimes as serious, uncaring or lacking empathy," Jenny Morrison said.
Asked about his own perceived lack of empathy in response to the human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prime minister said he bleeds "like everybody else".
"I do it privately, and I do it quietly and I do it in the arms of my wife and family," Mr Morrison said.
Child sexual abuse survivor and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has also been a vocal critic of the government's handling of women's safety issues.
Mr Morrison endured an awkward encounter with Ms Tame at a morning tea at The Lodge in January when she stood stony-faced during a photograph and appeared reluctant to shake his hand.
While Mr Morrison has previously brushed off the encounter, his wife said in the Nine interview that she wanted her own daughters to be respectful.
"I want my daughters to grow up to be fierce, strong, independent, amazing people. I think they can still do that and show kindness to other people and be polite and have manners," she said.
Winning support from female voters will be crucial to Mr Morrison's re-election. A Newspoll published by The Australian shows the coalition's primary vote remains on a post-election record low of 34 per cent.
Australian Associated Press
