Dan, Gladys slammed for shunning national Covid plan - Herald Sun

The Victorian and NSW premiers have been slammed by industry groups for taking a conservative approach and ignoring the national plan to reopen.

The Victorian and NSW premiers have been slammed by Small Business Australia for ignoring the National Plan to reopen the nation.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday detailed a new 90 per cent double-vaxxed target for opening up the state, despite the national plan that she and Daniel Andrews signed up to committing to a relaxation of most restrictions at 80 per cent.

In Victoria, Mr Andrews refused to even commit to matching NSW’s proposed freedoms at 90 per cent.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang slammed the “glacial movement to opening up by the premiers”.

“Our political leaders need to understand that business owners and their staff cannot continue to wait,” Mr Lang said.

“Many have been unable to trade for 19-months.

“On behalf of small businesses in NSW and Victoria, Small Business Australia is urging both governments to allow fully vaccinated businesses to trade with those who are fully vaccinated.

“If it is safe for them to do so at 80 per cent, then why is it unsafe for them to trade with each other now?

“What we do not need is time wasted on trials, or goalposts shifting to 90 per cent before businesses can fully trade.

“There is an urgency here that neither Gladys Berejiklian, Daniel Andrews or their health bureaucrats seem to understand and it is time to follow the world by getting our businesses and our people freed – the time for waiting needs to be over.

“The Delta variant should have taught Australia … you cannot hold this virus out.

“Instead of a policy of suppression we need to move to a policy of ‘living with Covid’ that should start today for the vaccinated and all in the community once we reach the point when anyone who can have had the vaccination, has had the opportunity to do so, with that date set clearly for reopening, with all restrictions removed and the borders open.”

Under a three-stage plan, many freedoms will return for all in NSW on December 1 regardless of their vaccination status, when the state government expects more than 90 per cent of the eligible population to be double-dosed.

Only under that new stage will limits on household visitors and informal outdoor gatherings be scrapped and a one person per 2sq m rule across almost all settings be put in place.

Caps on patron numbers will be ditched and bosses will be able to require staff to return to the office.

While Small Business Australia condemned the NSW and Victorian premiers, other industry leaders said Mr Andrews should at least match NSW’s plan.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra said many Victorians would be looking at the NSW road map with envy.

“Unlike us, restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars will not be subject to venue caps when they reach 80 per cent vaccination rates,” he said.

“It is crucial that these caps be removed from the Victorian road map to give the sector the best chance at bouncing back and making the most of the busy festive and summer season.

“Victorian couples and venues also want the same rules for weddings as NSW, where density caps will no longer apply once the 80 per cent double dose level is achieved.”

Under Victoria’s road map a number of restrictions will remain in force even after the state hits an 80 per cent fully vaccinated target, including a cap on visitors to the home, public gatherings, and limits at hospitality venues.

The Victorian government was heavily criticised for not fully consulting industry groups before releasing its road map this month.

But Restaurant & Catering Australia chief Wes Lambert said consultation between industry and the NSW government had been fantastic.

“NSW’s hospitality industry is on cloud nine today and we would like to thank the NSW government for their ongoing consultation during this period,” he said.

“This road map will give certainty in the most uncertain of times. Additionally, the news that weddings will no longer be capped once vax rates reach 80 per cent is a huge win for the industry.”

Under Victoria’s road map, weddings will be capped at 150 vaccinated people indoors and 500 outdoors.

Tim Piper, the Victorian head of the employer association Ai Group, said he would like to see as much conformity as possible between NSW and Victoria.

“They’re the two biggest states and make up for almost 60 per cent of the economy,” Mr Piper said. “Victorians are hanging out for being given the same sort of opportunities as NSW. If we can follow the NSW path, that’s what we should be doing.”

Mr Andrews said Victoria would not follow NSW’s lead.

“We haven’t even had a conversation about when (the vaccinated economy) might change and everyone might be on an equal footing,” the Premier said.

“Over the next few weeks we will be able to watch very closely and see what happens in New South Wales as they open up. What does it mean for their health system and their nurses and doctors? What does it mean for case numbers?”

Duke of Wellington manager Andy O’Brien said having density quotients instead of venue caps would boost profitability for big venues. “If it was regulated by one person per 2sq m we could have up to 488 people,” he said.

NORTH ROLLS UP SLEEVES

One in three residents in a critical Covid-ravaged hot spot have had their first vaccine dose in the past month alone, amid a big surge in northern suburbs vaccination rates.

Residents across Hume in Melbourne’s north and Wyndham in Melbourne’s west have rolled up their sleeves in droves over the past four weeks with more than 120,000 first doses administered across both regions.

While first dose rates had surged above 60 per cent in more than 40 Victorian municipalities – and even hit 86.9 per cent in Queenscliffe – Hume recorded just 40.80 per cent on August 27.

But those rates have rocketed to 73.8 per cent and one in three people aged over 15 are now fully vaccinated.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed a push from multicultural community leaders in Melbourne’s north and west for an urgent increase in vaccine supply and ­clinics.

The areas have been the epicentre of Victoria’s third wave with Hume having the most active Covid cases, at 3077.

“What we’ve seen is the community respond and they have responded in overwhelming numbers and we’re so delighted to see that,” Youth Activating Youth director Ahmed Hassan, who was involved in the campaign, said.

“This is not only an increase in numbers, this is saving lives.”

Wyndham in Melbourne’s west has also recorded one of the state’s biggest gains over the past month, with a 33 per cent rise in first doses from 49.7 per cent to 82.8 per cent. The Herald Sun can ­reveal a pop-up clinic at the ­Islamic Museum of Australia in Thornbury will begin ­administering Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines from ­Tuesday.

Founder Moustafa Fahour OAM said four private cubicles would allow women and ­people with faith and cultural needs to have privacy while they received their vaccines.

“It is about providing places that are easily accessible, comfortable and from trusted community voices,” he said.

GPs and pharmacies across 11 Melbourne municipalities with low vaccination rates will also receive extra funding under a state government plan to turbocharge the rollout.

Grants of between $4000 and $10,000 will be on offer to eligible operators in Brimbank, Cardinia, Casey, Darebin, Greater Dandenong, Hobsons Bay, Hume, Melton, Whittlesea and Wyndham.

Premier Daniel Andrews said this would allow them to extend trading hours and see more patients.

“They can have more people go through the vaccination program that they are running,” he said.

Victoria is on the way to reaching its vaccine targets with 77.5 per cent of eligible Victorians receiving a single dose of a vaccine, while 47.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Victoria recorded 705 new Covid cases and one death on Monday, taking the total ­number of active cases to 8538.

The Royal Melbourne ­Hospital shut its Covid testing clinic on Monday as rising ­active cases put pressure on its emergency department.

A Royal Melbourne ­Hospital spokeswoman said the Grattan St free clinic, was “closed permanently”.

More than 360 people are in hospital including 75 in ICU.

ANDREWS CONSIDERS CURFEW WILL CHANGE

Daniel Andrews hasn’t ruled out pushing the curfew back to allow Melburnians an extra hour in the sun once daylight saving kicks in.

With clocks to go forward on October 3, the Premier was asked on Monday if the curfew would be adjusted, as it was last year.

“With daylight saving coming, we might have to have a think about the hours of the curfew,” he said.

“I’m not announcing that, that’s not my decision.

“It’s a decision based on the advice from the chief health officer and I don’t have any, but that is a practical matter.”

Deakin University chair in epidemiology, Catherine Bennett said “the curfew can go”.

“It doesn’t change any risk and is affecting people in ways that aren’t often recognised,” Professor Bennett said.

She said the curfew stopped shift workers from shopping or exercising late at night — forcing more people to do these activities during the day.

She also said the curfew meant people visiting an intimate partner or single friend had to leave by 9pm, or stay until the next morning. “If they (the government) come back and say they’re constantly finding people out after 9pm, then maybe that’s justification for keeping it,” she said.

“But at this stage we’re yet to see evidence and there is a level of disruption and concentration of people’s activities out of work that is difficult to understand from an epidemiological perspective.”

Melbourne School of Population and Global Health head Nancy Baxter said the 9pm curfew would end — predicted to be about October 26 under the road map — when the sun still sets before 8pm.

“I would say that sunset really shouldn’t be setting the timing of the curfew,” she said.

“If it’s getting lighter later, one would think there would be more movement.

“And the whole point of curfew is to reduce movement.”

Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Professor Nathan Grills said the curfew should be scrapped.

“Curfews are a disproportionate measure which further limits already curtailed freedoms and unnecessarily increases community stress,” he said.

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2021-09-27 13:29:43Z
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