Mark McGowan has stepped up criticisms of Gladys Berejiklian's response to Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak, declaring her comments indicating the need to "live with" the Delta variant were "totally wrong". "I just want to be totally clear - we cannot accept that position. We don't live with it. We don't tolerate it. We don't let it linger," he said.

"We suppress it and we get rid of it. That is the Australian approach to the virus."

Mr McGowan previously hinted at enforcing an indefinite hard border with NSW unless the state can "crush and kill the virus".

"We still reserve the right to lockdown in specific locations if absolutely necessary.



I strongly doubt that even with 80% vaccinated, WA will have an open border to NSW if there are still hundreds of cases per day. I think it was on the radio a few days ago that McGowan said the national cabinet agreement was zero community transmission.

Yeah avoid lismore like the plague. The 2 kids of the byran bay man have been caught are in lismore hospital apparently

McMaoan better be careful sprouting off that sort of nonsense or he’ll never get anywhere near 80%. You need the threat of cases to get people vaccinated. No cases, no threat of community transmission and you’ll struggle to even get past 70%. His loyal subjects, the apathetic bogan majority in WA, have been lulled into a false sense of security thanks to him. The national vaccine stats confirm it.

Although part of me thinks it may be his plan after all. The closed border is winning him votes and no one can leave to spend their money in more interesting parts of the country or the world...he probably doesn’t care if 80% is ever reached, because it gives him the power to stay shut for a lot longer.

Please be careful . We are not bogans. My wife and I are both fully vaxed with AZ. We are very happy with what Mark does ( and are life long Liberal voters).

Please think twice before you make these sweeping statements .

The Dunning Kruger effect isn't a "cognitive condition", we're all prone to it; and it's not about a lack of intelligence.
The Dunning Kruger effect is about ignorance and confidence; it's about ignorance breeding confidence; a certain level of understanding helps one understand just how little one does know.

You've demonstrated it quite well by claiming it's about intelligence.

No bogans here either. Two more days and my wife and I will be fully vaxxed.
That this is only happening now has absolutely nothing to do with Mark McGowan but falls 100% into ScoMo's lap.

The closed border is winning him no votes at all. The freedom of movement, continuing employment and freedom from disease is certainly a vote winner though.
You see, most West Australians are quite capable of forgoing pilgrimages to the Sydney Bowlo provided they are still gainfully employed, healthy, enjoying an otherwise unencumbered lifestyle and don't have to worry about how they can get to Grandad and Nan's funeral.

As for the travel, we should be OK for SA, VIC, QLD, NT and Tassie again before too long.
And we'd still be able to commute with NZ if Beryl hadn't screwed the pooch.

It's this episode from ABC Radio last Friday starting from 24 minutes into the program. It's clearly stated the National Cabinet goal is for suppression with no community transmission given our current vaccination rates (18%), not future rates (70/80%). Currently the nation is in Phase A, in which no community transmission is the goal agreed to by all states. Then when you get to Phase B and C that changes. The WA government has made statements saying the 70% to 80% vaccination rate is when hotel quarantine and lockdowns can be ended.

EDIT:

Here's the Doherty Institute modelling that was used in formulating the decisions made by National Cabinet. Check out the tables on page 17 and 18. The numbers of cases, hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths are noted at various levels of vaccine coverage. Although the higher rates of coverage at 70 and 80% markedly decrease the numbers they are still somewhat prevalent, but all states and territories and the feds signed off on the Roadmap based on this modelling. So all States and Territories are acknowledging there will be some spread and fatalities, just at much more manageable numbers with a high level of vaccination.

Or perhaps you guys getting all worked up about this could realise NO system will have 100% compliance.

No current law has 100% compliance.

So if the “health response” can’t cope with a small minority breaking the rules, the system needs to be strengthened.

Good for you getting jabbed, but you and SOPS are not the people I was referring to. I live in Perth, I mix in various cross circles of the community. I am well aware of the vibe out there. It is one of apathy when it comes to getting vaccinated. I hope I’m wrong, but happy to revisit this in 4 months time when I suspect WA will still be at the bottom of the jab tally, hovering around 65%. Unless of course there’s a sustained breakout in which case there will no doubt be vaccine queues and panic.

As for your comment about the border policy keeping people gainfully employed, have a look around mate. You’re on a pilot forum. I think very few people here would now have a more secure job thanks to Chairman McMaoan!

I guess they dont believe the virus is real either or maybe their father has changed his mind now.

You're correct. I wasn't singling out industry groups. And McGowan's policies have obviously had a significant intermittent, impact on the inter-state aviation sector.
But my office is directly under the approach to 24 - intra-state traffic doesn't seem to have suffered much while the mining sector is still protected by McGowan's policies and still very bullish.

But tell me, how is inter-state and intra-state aviation doing in NSW at the moment? Gonna hang that off McGowan too?

NSW problems are caused by NSW government, today Chant and Hazzard are to front a parliamentary inquiry (which is as pointless as national cabinet) over the advice she provided to NSW government about when Sydney needed to lockdown.

NSW is as cooked as a Turkey on xmas day, for me, the most frustrating thing is ppl know they wont get criminally charged with anything. Its now time to charge these rule breakers they need to be in a court and going to the clink its happening daily these clowns doing their own thing.

Or the resources sector insist that all employees/contractors are vaccinated as a condition of employment. Should see a pickup in the uptake!

it is truly unbelievable. The latest I heard this morning about this clown who went to Byron bay after visiting his covid positive wife is that he is saying he went there to look at a property to purchase. And you guessed it, there is an exemption in the lockdown rules that say you can leave your area for such a purpose. There is no distance limit put on how far you can go. So it looks like yet another fork up by our wonderful public servants. Just like the non compulsory measures for the driver who started all this. And there would be plenty of these useless public servants on two hundred thousand a year plus who gave the thumbs up to these rules. Yet none will suffer any consequences. They have also not lost a single cent since this all started 18 months ago.

having said that, I would hope he can be charged with public endangerment having visited his covid positive wife before going.

Of course. The real estate industry and property developers have a stranglehold on all governments but especially Berejiklian and her deputy Barilaro, up to their necks in property developer influence. Housing price growth and real estate sales will always be maintained, that’s non negotiable.

So what is his plan if we do not achieve that figure? Because, so far as I can tell, there isn't one! These are "targets", these 70%, 80% figures, and while they are based on "health advice" they do not provide any guideline or response should these goals not be met! But also from that article:
Meanwhile, in Iceland...Actually, not quite true. My employer is desperately crying out (begging might be a better term...) for crew to do significant overtime (residential) or change from their contracted 2/2 to indefinite 2/1 roster's (FIFO) due to the effect the border restrictions are having on their interstate FIFO crew, offering many thousands of dollars in incentives, LAFHA and the like to try to keep things moving. But that carrot is running out, particularly for a lot of interstate FIFO Driver's who have been held hostage by WA for more than a year. They want to go home to see their families, and they're becoming increasingly prepared to do just that and wear the lost AL or go on LWOP knowing they can't get back in to WA, no matter how hard the major ore producers insist interstate FIFO crew are essential to their operations.....

WA's budget has been kept afloat by record iron ore prices, nothing more. I can only wonder what their response would have been if the spot price was back in 2016 levels, below $50 a tonne...

Singapore is pretty close!

https://www.gstatic.com/onebox/sport...con_square.png
Singapore
Total doses given 8.04M
People fully vaccinated 3.81M
66.8 % fully vaccinated

Singapore’s Goverment can tell the people of Singapore what is going to happen and that’s what happens . Better to compare to Australia to democracies like India , U.K. or America to see where we might be heading ? Being an island has delayed what’s coming that’s all .

Well I guess the plan, as agreed to by National Cabinet, is to remain in Phase A, so lockdowns and restrictions.

But I don’t think that’ll happen, just to clarify the rates of 70 and 80% are based on the over 16 population, not total population. So that would boost Australia’s rate to 23% at the moment, and then you have the UK over 70% of over 18s, Canada at 71% of over 12s, and the trend line in vaccinations in those countries is still heading upwards so Australia’s targets should be achievable.

Also, meanwhile, in Iceland (from the same news.com.au article which in typical news.com.au fashion sensationalises the headline but buries less fearing mongering info deep in the article):The latest outbreak – despite its size – has so far claimed none (lives).

It (the vaccine) is limiting hospitalisation and death.

Iceland’s government is not discouraged.

“Evidence shows that the vaccines used in Iceland protect about 60 per cent of those fully vaccinated against any kind of infection caused by the Delta variant of the virus and over 90 per cent against serious illnesses,” Iceland’s Director-General Bryndís Kjartansdóttir said.

“About 97 per cent of those infected have mild or no symptoms.”

For a more sensible take on the situation in Iceland check out this:

Fact Check-COVID-19 cases in Iceland are not proof that vaccines are ineffective

Last time I checked, 'America' was a continent (two in fact), named for Amerigo Vespucci which contained several obvious non-democratic states. Perhaps the United States and Canada is what you meant????