John Barilaro insists Gladys Berejiklian has always understood the “gravity” of Covid-19, as the NSW Premier faces criticism for being too slow to impose lockdowns across the state.
Ms Berejiklian confirmed on Saturday Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains would be plunged into a 14-day lockdown as the state faced a rapidly-spreading Covid-19 outbreak.
The Premier on Friday avoided using the term altogether, having previously been reticent to close businesses and publicly criticised states for jumping to lockdowns.
Just a month ago, she insisted NSW would avoid a repeat of its previous lockdown having focused on improving its contact tracing systems.
“We made sure that we had the systems in place to be able to weather whatever came our way, so that we wouldn’t ever go into lockdown again,” she told the Liberal Party’s Federal Council in May.
Ms Berejiklian also reportedly told a party-room meeting on Tuesday she held a Covid-19 press conference to “clear the air” before the state budget.
But her Deputy Premier John Barilaro denied Ms Berejiklian had become complacent over the virus, insisting she had always been “steadfast” in making decisions “regardless of politics”.
“We’ve got a Premier that has got the gravity of the pandemic more than probably any other person in the country, and I support her,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“Today, no one’s talking budget, everyone’s talking about lockdown. So it’s irrelevant.”
Mr Barilaro insisted the NSW government was “proud” of its reputation for keeping businesses open, denying the reversion to lockdown was a “knee jerk reaction”.
“You’re better off going into a sharp, two-week lockdown than having this slow death by a thousand cuts of restriction after restriction,” he said.
“On the data that we’ve seen, we’ve made a decision to do this. I know a lot of industry leaders that we’ve been in touch with would rather a two-week lockdown.”
Federal Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said he supported the lockdown, which Sydneysiders accepted was necessary, but said it was only necessary because of Australia’s “pathetic” vaccine rollout.
“I think all premiers deserve our support at the federal level, regardless of what party they’re from, in the tough decisions they’re making,” he told Insiders.
But Former Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson said a two-week lockdown to help businesses was “false economy”, saying the NSW government had been too slow to act.
“Of course we have empathy for the small businesses,” he told the ABC.
“But if you wait, and wait, and wait, and then instead of locking down for three days, you’re locked down for a fortnight with the prospect of even extended lockdowns, I don’t see how that benefits small business.”
Mr Barilaro revealed Sunday’s numbers would likely be “similar” to those seen in previous days, but said the spread across Sydney had necessitated a broader lockdown.
He flatly rejected suggestions the federal government had placed pressure on NSW to impose the lockdown, saying the state was “careful and calm” as it ramped up its response.
“I can tell you hand on heart there’s been not a single word uttered in relation to the prime minister or the federal government being involved in any of these conversations,” he said.
https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2021-06-26 23:54:35Z
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