When the NSW government first confronted the Delta outbreak in mid-June, it rolled the dice. Instead of going hard and fast into lockdown, as other states had, it turned to its previously successful playbook of relying on its contact tracers to keep the virus in check.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian insisted that “we have always said we won’t burden our citizens unless we absolutely have to ... We rely on people’s common sense as much as what the health orders say.” It was a high-stakes gamble.
As infections continued to grow in Sydney, so did the odds that more restrictions would be needed. And so they were. First came the stay-at-home orders for the local government areas most affected by infections. The following day, the whole of Sydney was put under the same restrictions. Students were told to learn from home.
Watching from south of the border has been frustrating. Had NSW not learnt from our well-publicised mistakes? Last year, our hotel quarantine program and contact tracing were not up to scratch. Restrictions were enforced too slowly in the second lockdown. Criticism came thick and fast from many quarters, including fromAnd yet for all the rhetoric coming out of Canberra about the national cabinet being an ideal forum for sharing lessons learnt, NSW has succumbed to repeating some of our failures.
NSW has all the advantages of a first-rate contact tracing team and its testing program has proved more than capable of managing an enormous upsurge in demand. And it’s not like the highly infectious nature of the Delta variant is a new phenomenon. It has been raging around the globe for many months. The evidence and deadly consequence of its rapid spread was on the record by the time it hit Sydney.The straight answer is the Sydney outbreak is a failure of political leadership.
Does the headline make sense ?
It’s been enraging to watch from start to finish. Even resident Sydney experts were screaming for more action. And all were (and still are at every new step) denigrated as ‘covid cowards’ or some other such. The NSW Gov may well have irreparably damaged Australia’s safe path out.
please remove her !!!
Not just hubris Perrotet said, proudly, that his role was to ‘lobby for business interests’ Hence most big shops are still open, & causing infections.
Please remember who assumed responsibility for quarantine and who did not want federal assistance and gave the quarantine job to what appears to a incompetent company that nobody in government knows how they got the job or who signed the contract that lead to 700plus deaths.
How come the Victorian government is not coming down after 700 plus deaths that nobody in the Victorian Government has a clue as to how there abject failure killed 700 plus deaths. NSW currently only 13, is 700plus bigger than 13.
🏅💩
This Editorial is spot on, its been frustrating looking from down in Vic. I'm just hoping the elderly are vaccinated enough🙏. I wish NSW all the best, and for all the people up there to know, you can do this, you can get through this all together like we had to do👍
This Editorial is spot on, its been frustrating looking from down in Vic. I wish NSW all the best, and for all the people up there to know, you can do this, you can get through this all together like we had to do👍
Are you acknowledging the Andrew’s government leadership in taking an unpopular but successful path? Cheers The AGE. Might resubscribe if your journalism continues to replace divisive opinion.
ScoMo's offsiders I guess.
Hi Melbourne! 🙄
Was it Gladys or ScoMos decision
Bit of a change from this:
Ultimately it all comes back to Morrison's failure to procure vaccines (other than AZ) and roll them out. It is also his fault for failing to set up proper quarantine facilities, instead handballing it to the states. Gladys drank Morrison's Kool-Aid. Now we're paying for it.
And this kids, is why you don’t vote Liberal.
Isn’t she the women that saved Australia though? Ha ha ha brrrrttt
bexton_
FAIL!!! GET OUT GLADBAGS!!!
This is a terribly misinformed piece that provides little to no insight about the decision making and situation in NSW. 'describing as “bonkers” that people then could still attend gyms.' Gyms closed with lockdown.
thisisnotjournalism It is basically propaganda mixed with paraochialism.
Managing a Delta outbreak with no hard lockdowns or comprehensive vaccination was dancing with the Devil. One gets the impression that Berejiklian had started to believe her own press, without remembering who was writing it.
Where were you in Vic last year ?
yes but when Does screws up it costs 800 lives.
LittleCrow777 Drama Queen...
There has been a failure in New South Wales leadership. People need to be held to account. Berejiklian needs to move out of the way and give someone else a go. Nothing she has done is working. She went too late and has never gone hard enough. Spin doesn’t cut it.
Been a long month hey Gay_Alcorn
Fairfax “¯\\_(ツ)_/¯“
No media, the nation is paying the cost of everyday Australians NOT taking up the AZ vaccine. About 3 million doses are about to expire. That’s 1.5 million people that can be vaccinated. It’s absolutely fucking stupid.
I thought National Cabinet denied the NSW request to send vaccines from regional NSW to Sydney. Dan 'The PM denied this request, and I support him.' Did NSW move vaccines against the National Cabinet decision? Why have a National Cabinet if LNP just do what they want? Again!
Will it? With the current case load cases won't get to zero before maybe November. Then what? We will open again. Needs to be an acceptance covid is here to stay
Good editorial.
In hindsight a number of poor calls, like VIC in July 2020. I was convinced they would get on top of it until the unknowns jumped over 60 and it was clear they had lost control. The lack of a proper support package from feds likely made it a more difficult call on hard lockdown.
manjusrii
First time ever... it should be labelled GladysB failures...just like u had Vic premier and his team demonised everytime there has been a lockdown...
Golden standard of failure.
Raf_Epstein I'd debate the assumption that northern beaches et el were 'successful' yes they got the cluster under control eventually, but it cost more than a short sharp Sydney wide lockdown. Infected hundreds of people (long covid) seeded to VIC and closed state borders for many weeks.
New Delta in NSW 16-Jun=2 17 Jun=2 18 Jun=2 19 Jun=2 20 Jun=2 NSW Govt had ample opportunity to do something. They chose to believe rubbish about NSW superior Contact Tracers. If NSW had acted swiftly like: WA, SA, Qld, NT, Vic.. most likely, NSW would've had 1-2 wk lockdown.
Gladys has failed against her own criterion. A massive unnecessary burden. She should resign immediately…
It’s time the media acknowledged their role in this. The reporting on the pandemic, like that on climate change, shows journalists cannot be trusted to report on scientific data and advice.
Absolute failure
Brilliant editorial
You take your time. But still the soft, ‘we take no pleasure in this’, let’s not upset Glad or Scomo approach.
There is no delight in noting that NSW's choice of lockdown model, which is a confused feast of evolving changes, displays a stubborn political stance of deadly proportions Even when providing the daily Nos, any overnight deaths are pushed to the side like inconvenient truths
Raf_Epstein So Costello and scotty are going after Gladys and sucking up to Victorians? Everything in the article is true but the politics are obvious. Too late, we see you.
Raf_Epstein Exactly. Mohammed in QandA was right. It’s a dangerous situation. More than just Covid. This will bring down the Liberal party. They deserve it. Irresponsible. PatsKarvelas LaTrioli
GladysB the COWARD. Runs away when asked a hard question.
2020digging At least you are able to change your position to protect the people of NSW. This was not forthcoming when Victorians needed protection and upholding of health advice based on science.
Absolutely S*** the bed the NSW GOVERNMENT.
TooLittleTooLate SydneyDeltaStrain PremierFailure MartialLawGreaterSydney SackGladysBerejiklian KickNSWLNPOut
Spot on. Except if Gladys had her time over again, i have a feeling she would do the same thing. She is a sociopath. Even after 5 weeks of rising cases she is still drip feeding the restrictions.
Protection rackets aren’t cheap.
We're good in WA. Speedy recovery NSW❤️
Maybe speak to your stablemate at the AFR. They were complicit in the hubris.
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