Coronavirus Australia: Jim’s Mowing to defy lockdown

Jim’s Mowing founder Jim Penman has vowed to defy Victoria’s stage four restrictions to keep his business running, saying he will pay the fines of any contractors caught out.

Jim’s Mowing founder Jim Penman has vowed to defy Victoria’s stage four restrictions to keep his business running, saying he will pay the fines of any contractors caught out.

Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said it was “disappointing to hear someone saying they’re going to deliberately flaunt the directions”.

“We’ll deal with every incident on a case-by-case basis when we become alerted to it through the police assistance line,” he told ABC News Breakfast.

“We get lots of reports of breaches in terms of mass gatherings, personal breaches. But … if that was to occur, we will take the enforcement action the public would expect us.”

Appearing later on the same program, Mr Penman argued that he was not encouraging anyone to flout the rules – and that Premier Daniel Andrews’ edict was “against the advice of his own department”.

“I would totally agree with the Police Commissioner, that nobody should flout the rules,” he said.

Jim's Mowing founder Jim Penman. Picture: Jason Edwards

“When we were shut down in New Zealand a couple of months back, we stopped working entirely, we told all our franchisees to stop work. We suspended all fees and we absolutely abide by the law – but the law at the moment is what’s given to us by the Department of Health and Human Services.”

Mr Penman said the DHHS website made it clear “building and grounds maintenance, cleaning and pest control” businesses could continue.

“So we are abiding by the law,” he said. “The problem is that the Premier said something which is against the advice of his own department.”

He said the Premier should “change the guidelines and don’t give two messages” if he really wanted to shut down his business.

“The point I’d like to make, though, (is) there’s nothing that’s really more safe than going out and mowing lawns, for example, because you don’t have contact with the public, we have electronic payments, you’re not seeing people, you’re not with people, you’re not near people,” he said.

“Our people travel by car from one job to another. There’s no reason for them to come within 10 metres of any member of the public in what they’re doing. So there’s no lack of safety.”

He added, “If you throw tens of thousands of Australians out of work and they all go home, what are they going to do? (They’re) going to go down the bottle shop.”

Mr Penman told news.com.au the Premier needed to address his “appalling” mistake and “give us some leadership and guidance”.

He also questioned why Melbourne City Council gardeners were “considered essential” and allowed to keep working, while others had been singled out by the Premier, and said he had made the offer to pay for any fines his franchisees may incur because he was “100 per cent certain” it would never happen.

“I have 1300 franchisees in the state and if they were each fined $1000 I’d be up for $1.3 million – as if I’d take that kind of risk. It’s absolutely out of the question it would happen,” he said.

Mr Penman stressed that he was fully in support of fining those who broke coronavirus rules and vowed to support the law, but called on the Premier to clarify his statement.

Mr Patton yesterday described the rising trend so-called “sovereign citizens”, people who “don’t think the law applies to them”, as small but “nonetheless concerning”.

One young female officer was brutally assaulted in a confrontation that escalated after approaching a woman who wasn’t wearing a mask.

Mr Patton said at least four times in the last week police had been forced to “smash the windows of cars and pull people out” because they were refusing to provide their details.

“Get real is my message. Get real,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Seven’s Sunrise this morning.

“This is a difficult time for everybody, I know people are angry and frustrated. There’s been a lot of confusion and still to be worked out on some of these restrictions.”

Mr Morrison stressed that “we have to get through this, we have to make sure this work”.

“What we don’t need (are those types of incidents) we saw with that attack … on a police officer just doing their job,” he said.

“People are doing their job, seeking to have these arrangements followed and complied with. It is not unreasonable to wear a mask, not unreasonable to do the most basic things around distancing.”

Mr Morrison said he knew it was “tough because you can’t go to work, it’s tough to close your business” and for kids not to be able to go to school.

“It is tough. That is why we are providing the scale support we are,” he said.