Labor Premiers Andrews, McGowan and Palaszczuk have copped plenty of criticism for using the "L" word often, LOCKDOWN. With an outbreak of the more contagious Delta strain of Covid spreading rapidly in Sydney from the so called Mr Limo Driver, something the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzards needs to explain, no mask no vaccine, and his departments roll in all that. Seemingly under pressure from vested business interests the Berejiklian government failed to contain the virus to four designated LGA's. Coupled with the Morrison governments shambolic vaccine roll-out and failure to provide proper quarantine facilities the virus is moving around Sydney at an alarming rate.

Critics of lockdowns and vaccinations should now realise the decisive actions of the three Labor Primers is the only correct way of having a chance of containing the virus. Keeping coffee shops and pizza parlours open might satisfy the Bereliklian governments constituency in the short term, but it might prove costly in the long run.

Hi Paul,

It's certainly scary. Poor Sydneysiders.
Well I guess - hopefully you live and learn.

Everything was running along smoothly - and then
WHAM! this happens. I guess we all expect "it won't happen
to us." Which just goes to show - listen to the medical
experts and luckily Victoria did. So glad to be living
here.

Yep I'm now under house arrest due to having visited the grandkids in Sydney last week.

This despite the fact that the evidence that lockdowns don't work just keeps getting stronger each month. Remember the good ol' days when the lockdown was about 'flattening the curve'. Governments have long since forgotten that. I even saw Gladys claiming that the aim was ALWAYS about eradicating the virus. Flatten the curve has been sent down the memory-hole.

So a few people have developed a sniffle and the entire state is closed down. But fear not - the people who have decided this won't suffer any loss, their salaries will keep flowing.

It seems that the issue is now about the how many people have the sniffles. A month ago, NSW had 5 people in hospital due to the WuFlu, one of them in ICU and one on a ventilator. And no one was talking about lockdowns then. Today there are 5 in hospital, of which one is ICU and NONE on a ventilator.

Five people are sick enough to be hospitalised. Five, FIVE.

And 5,000,000 are under house arrest because of it.

"Single Biggest Public Health Mistake, Possibly Of All History".

http://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28930/w28930.pdf?utm_campaign=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&amp%3Butm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&amp%3Butm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED

SA and WA are still doing OK, one Labor premier, and one Liberal premier, so not a lot to do with politics, as 1405 would have us believe. All you eastern staters keep on thinking that the sun shines out of your arses and stay your side of the Great Dividing Range.

ttbn,

Did you do geography at school?

Did you do geography at school?
is Mise,
Well, up here in the deep Tropical North where Global Warming is presently making us shiver in 15 Degree temperatures we luckily still get awakened at 6am by Cockatoos instead of some wailing from a loudspeaker at 5 am.
Plenty of Victorian tourists or rather permanent residents from Victoria clogging the bush tracks though so, I wonder how long before they infect us too !

"Having given governments license to lock us up to keep us safe, there will be no end of pestilences from which we need protection. And people will yearn for it. The Stockholm Syndrome writ large". (Peter Smith)

Dear mhaze,

Why is it that the rightwingers have been the biggest whingers during this pandemic?

Under 'house arrests'? What dribble. Most will think they are complying in order to stop an explosion of the virus into a largely unvaccinated community but not you. The typical selfishness and disregard for others that basically frames the right wing viewpoint.

As for this: "This despite the fact that the evidence that lockdowns don't work just keeps getting stronger each month."

Lockdowns are very effective and have allowed Australia to be one of the standout nations for controlling the virus. The evidence is right before your eyes but you look elsewhere.

You record on this has been utterly abysmal.

Nine months ago you were saying "Lockdown failed. We must follow the Swedish model and learn to live with Covid..."

You smirked about the extent of the second wave in Sweden until it blew up to be substantially worse than the first.

You described covid as a bad flu.

Here we are with an economy which hasn't been shattered as you claimed it would, with unemployment below pre covid levels, and here you are asking to be listened to again?

Nah.

With the Gold Standard (according to Morrison) of the Berejiklian government rusting before our eyes, serious questions need to be answered. Why did it take until last Friday for Berejiklian to apply a lockdown to Sydney, was she under pressure from the burger and pizza mob not to do so. Why was Mr Limo driving infected aircrew around with no ppe or vaccination. That's one for The Hazzard, he can add it to his Ruby Princess debacle! Couple for Morrison, why doesn't Australia's largest city have dedicated quarantine facilities, a year after it was known hotels were not satisfactory, not fit for purpose. Why is only 4% of the adult population fully vaccinated, despite Morrison's claim that Australia will be at the head of the queue. What queue was he talking about, the sick queue!

My Old Man, now long gone, always said, "Son, the Conservatives are useless in a crises, be it war or a depression." I was stating to doubt the Old Man, gee Dad they seem to be doing a good job in this pandemic crisis. Well like the jackal's they are, the Old Mans words are ringing true once more! Lets hope we don't pay a heavy price for Conservative incomperdence this time around.

Good on the Labor people in WA and the NT for taking quick decisive action once again against the pandemic.

SR wrote: "Why is it that the rightwingers have been the biggest whingers during this pandemic?"

Well I put it down to two reasons...

1. Those on the right tend to look at the facts rather than the spin

2. Those on the right are very compassionate toward those who are forced to bear the cost of these failed policies whereas those on the left are anxious to ensure that the elite get their due.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/08/bill-a08.html

NB: that's just one example. There are literally dozens of articles and studies showing what a disaster this has been for the lower classes and what a boon its been for the credentialed classes.

Oh, one more point. Despite the fear-mongering, there are no more people in hospital due to the WuFlu today than two months ago. But its no longer about the risk of the disease but just the disease itself. Indeed the media and the authorities don't even talk about the severity of the disease any longer. At the height of the scare there were daily updates as to how many were in hospital, in ICU, on ventilators. Now that data is hidden away in an obscure part of the health dept website and isn't even mentioned by the media.

Why? because doing so would show how over-blown the whole scare is.

Judging by some of the posts the new strain is desperately needed in Sydney & Melbourne !

One definition of insanity is continuing to do something that doesn't work and expecting different results. The constant lockdowns prove the insanity of our politicians. They don't work. The virus will be with us for a long time, and peasants need to accept that just as they have accepted the incompetence of the politicians they keep voting for. No work. No money. No freedom to travel in your own country. Suck it up, idiots.

Pauliar,

"Australia has administered at least 7,257,605 doses of COVID vaccines so far." Roughly 30% of Australia's adult population has at least 1 dose which is more than twice the % as New Zealand has achieved.

Secondly, lockdown is the action of last resort if other less damaging actions don't work. That the 3 Labor premiers have used lockdown frequently is due to their incompetence, with Victoria being the turd standard.

That NSW in spite of doing all the heavy lifting including more visitor quarantine than virtually all other states put together hasn't needed to screw up the economy as badly as the Labor Fwits.

We really should not protect people who don't want to protect themselves !

On the dictatorial attitude of state premiers shutting themselves off and possibly taking their fiefdoms back to being separate colonies (using federal government money), I have just read an article suggesting that Victoria is not the only state turning China red.

According to the article, premier McGowan in WA is one to watch, following his criticism of the Morrison government's handling of China. He is reported in The Australian as saying: "All this language I see coming out of the Commonwealth government about us going to war with China, I have never heard something so insane in my life". Obviously the silly man doesn't have a clue about China; so silly that he claims the federal government is "promoting the idea of armed conflict with a superpower". Despite this he further rants that, "We should always protect our interests, our institutions, our independence, our democracy and our freedoms. That goes without saying". What dies he think that the Morrison government is trying to do!

McGowan's Chinese Communist mates agree with him: "The Australian government should heed these constructive opinions", they say. And, before intensifying his pro-China rant, McGowan appointed two pro-Beijing community leaders to a new paid advisory council to advise the WA government.

One of these advisers has stated that: "We overseas Chinese are the first line of defence for our motherland". The CCP's United Front Work Department appears to have a snug berth in WA. Channel 9, ABC with ads, has reported on WA Labor’s UNUSUAL closeness to China in the past.

Instead of all the "unique opportunities" arising from Covid that the Marxist manipulators have gabbled about, behaviour of the states during the pandemic should be seen as a real opportunity to get rid of them. (Ref: 'The West is Red, Dight Canning).

shonky, YOU ARE DESPERATE! New Zealand

Australia has vaccinated more people than, wait for it....DRUM ROLL...The African nation of Chad. Yes folks Australia has vaccinated more people than Chad who have vaccinated almost zero of its population, remarkable! shonky is your man ScumÒ' Morrison also running the vaccination roll-out in Chad?

shonky, you are full of it!

Economic growth in the last reporting quarter shows both Victoria and Western Australia well ahead of New South Wales, which is on a par with Queensland. Suck it up shonky, if you are going to make false claims, like the one you made about Dan Andrews accident, at least have something to back it up.

Dear mhaze,

Well that got a laugh.

“Those on the right tend to look at the facts rather than the spin”

My god! Really?

And this from a man who is now banging on the the vaccine has killed more Australians that the virus in 2021. If that isn't the most egregious spin I have heard in a while then I don't know what would beat it.

You are not “more compassionate” either. How many Australian lives would you have deemed acceptable to keep the economy open? You have repeatedly said you would have been prepared to do it in the blink of an eye.

As to enriching billionaires there hasn't been a squeak out of you regarding the likes of Harvey Norman holding on to Covid supplements despite huge profits through this period.

Utter rank hypocrisy from you yet again. You are doing Gladys proud.

SR wrote: "And this from a man who is now banging on the the vaccine has killed more Australians that the virus in 2021."

As much as you want to believe otherwise, that IS a fact.

"You have repeatedly said you would have been prepared to do it in the blink of an eye."

That on the other hand is NOT a fact.

"You are doing Gladys proud."

I know logic isn't your strong suit but I (above) have criticised the NSW decision to close the economy.

Resistance to any measures against Covid19 and encouraging scepticism or denialism has been strategic according to DeSmog U.K.; radical right libertarians who are very selective on science.

'How the UK's Climate Science Deniers Turned Their Attention to COVID-19. The coronavirus crisis quickly divided the population between those putting their trust in public health experts and others quick to question the science....

...A close look at commentary on both COVID-19 and climate change reveals significant crossover between unqualified voices casting doubt on experts recommending action.

Why?

“There’s nothing mysterious about this,” says Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor of cognitive science, who studies the persistence of misinformation in society at the University of Bristol.

“I think COVID is just climate change on steroids in a particle accelerator,” he says. “The same forces are happening: you have the inevitability of a virus which is the same as the inevitability of the physics. And opposing that you have politics which motivates some people to deny the inevitables and instead resort to bizarre claims.”

https://www.desmog.com/2020/08/10/how-uk-climate-science-deniers-turned-their-attention-coronavirus-covid-19/

Imagine for just a moment if there was a COVID-S as in Stupidity !
It'd be just great to sit back & watch indoctrinated hangers-on turning into Dominos !

Pauliar,

Strange that you are comparing Ardern with the Chadian dictator. But both are incompetent.

Aus has vaccinated 27% of the adult population with at least 1 jab, so not the 4% that you lied about.

Victoria's economy is doing far worse than NSW's that it has had a recent bounce does not compensate for the damage suffered under the incompetent Labor.

shonkyminister,

Ardern never made the claims that you man ScumO' made,

4,000,000 vaccinated by March.
The whole country fully vaccinated by October.
Australia is at the head of the queue (what, the sick queue).
All Aussies home and safe by Xmas.

Yes here we are in the middle of the year and none of the adove has been delivered. More of the Scotty from Marketing's smoke and mirrors. 4% of our population is fully vaccinated TRUE STATEMENT. The stop gap hotel quarantine, a ScumO' responsibly, is a joke as the Feds have sat on their hands for 12 months rather than do anything about the problem. The Coalition members are more interested in who gets the plum jobs than the Australian peoples health.

The so called Gold Standard government of Berejiklian in NSW had Mr Limo, driving infected aircrew around without ppe or a vaccination. What an incompetent joke, too busy with lover boy Darrel I suppose.

Don't you just wish Jacinda was running the country, instead of these incompetent morons from the Coalition?

Pauliar,

Telling porkies again? Jacinda promised a far faster delivery than she delivered. The plan was that everyone was to be vaccinated by the end of July and so far not even at risk are only getting vaccines by July / August.

The reason I know is that I am working in Christchurch at the moment and my wife of 60 with a heart condition is only scheduled for August.

FYI

"The ranking looks at how major countries around the world are handling the pandemic, taking into account social and economic disruption, mortality and infection rates, freedom of movement and how the vaccine rollout is going.

A new criterion this month is 'reopening progress' - a measure of each economy's openness to the world - with two metrics introduced to capture the ease of moving in and out of a place and how much air travel has recovered.

It's with this new criterion that the US has surged up the rankings from a lowly 13th in May to 1st in June, and New Zealand has been knocked off its perch.

"This pivot has ushered in dramatic changes to the ranks," Bloomberg writes. "The US is now No.1, with its fast and expansive vaccine rollout, dominated by the highly effective Messenger RNA shots, stemming what was once the world's worst outbreak."

New Zealand has slipped down the rankings thanks largely to what Bloomberg describes as a "lack of urgency" in its vaccine rollout. "

shonkyminister,

Bloomberg rankings US one, NZ two, Australia not in the first half dozen. To be expected the richest country in the World, with a decent president in Biden instead of the fool YOU supported Dangerous Doctor Donald, New Zealand has slipped down the rankings from one to two... WOW! Morrison promised Australia would be at the head of the queue, yeah the sick queue, instead with a pathetic 4% fully vaccinated we are shaking hands with likes of Chad and Uzbekistan.

Good one shonky.

Pauliar,

I made it clear that I didn't support Trump, however, I did challenge some of the many lies you were telling.

Speaking of your lies, the $bns provided to develop the vaccines and the mass vaccination programme was in place and running under Trump for which Biden has simply continued the programme and taken the credit.

Another lie of yours is to ignore that 27% of adult Aussies have had at least 1 vaccination and are largely immune and 5% have had 2 doses which put it 2x as far as New Zealand.

Morrison with his lies is trying to get himself out of a political noose with his government failed vaccine roll-out. We had Dangerous Doctor Donald and his disinfectant cure for Covid. Its believed that at least 100 people in America drank diso on the advice of DDD and died. Now here in Australia we have Dangerous Doctor Scott telling young folk against medical advice, have a jab of Astra Zeneca, a few of you might die, but I'll look good politically, a small price to pay! BTW doctors I'll make sure you can't be sued if the patent dies on your advice. Any Gp would be a fool to give such advice.

"The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, says he does not endorse the prime minister’s announcement that anyone under 40 can receive the Astra Zeneca vaccine from their GP, adding it took him by surprise."

Add to this the advice of all the State Chief Medical Officers, the advice of the Australian (Vaccination) Technical Advisory Group, and the only one pushing Astra Zeneca for the under 60's is the lying Morrison trying to get himself out of a political noose!

Wait there's more, how about Morrison waving his Liberal business buddies through quarantine time and again, bring the virus with them into Australia.

So Pauliar,

You like Anna P are an anti-vaxxer. I suppose that you are enough of a nutcase to qualify.

The opposition supporters are vehemently bleating about a slow pace of vaccination yet they don't want to get vaccinated ?
What am I missing here ?

Indy,

If all else fails for ScumO' then there is always the medical advice from Dangerous Doctor Donald, Australia has a hundred million doses of 'Pino-O-Clean' at the ready, but consult your trusted soothsayer first before taking.

Anna P declared AZ vaccine dangerous and seems to prefer many more people dying of Covid.

It is just this type of labor anti vaxxer drivel that slows down the rollout

Sorry shadowminister, I mentioned that Israel have published the fact that 46% of recent deaths were of people fully vaccinated before they contracted the virus. Take them if you like, but don't try pushing them at those who see the danger.

In Israel at least, & I'm sure in everywhere else, some of these chemical cocktails are totally useless, & the rest are of highly doubtful virtue. I believe anyone having the shot "is a bloody idiot" in the words of the old drink driving commercial are almost as dangerous as drink driving.

A good choice, of comparison, as these rushed to market rubbish chemical concoctions as the manufacturers demanded indemnification before they would release them.

If you want to be safe, use Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine, with zinc & vitamin C & D as a prophylactic. You at least get malaria as a complication, & India has quelled the worst of their outbreak using then.

shonkyminister, why don't you take the advice of your folk hero Dangerous Doctor Donald and take a big swig of Pine-O-Clean, maybe two swigs just to be sure. Trump was such an idiot, how could he fail not to appeal to a nincompoop like you. Give me Annastacia any day.

Hasbeen,

I believe the report to which you refer is erroneous. The number of people that have died from the AV vaccination is about 10 000th of people that have had complications from the contraceptive pill.

Vaccination will reduce the risk of covid to that of the common flu and enable the world to open up.

SM, good to see you are talking sense;

"Vaccination will reduce the risk of covid to that of the common flu and enable the world to open up."

Could not agree more, hopefully the day will come where through herd immunity eradication is possible, like it is with many other diseases.

Unfortunately through a number of bad government decisions, both federal and state, the situation in NSW is now alarming. Poor management of the transport of high risk people, airline crew, the Mr Limo Driver farce, no PPE, no vaccination, sparked the outbreak in the first place. That was compounded by the Berejiklian governments minimalist approach to control, imposing restrictions in four LGA's instead of a sharp city wide lockdown seen the virus spread and multiply. That seemed to be brought on by a conservative desire not to impact business. Then the Federal governments shambolic vaccineene roll-out with low rates of full vaccination has left Australia vulnerable to mass severe infection and deaths. Compounding this vulnerability is the poor and mixed messaging from governments to those effected, creating uncertainty within the population. All this is a recipe for disaster.

Brad Hazzard the NSW Health Minister is incompetent and should take responsibility and resign, or be sacked. Berejiklian is also on shaky ground with poor decision making. Morrison never takes responsibility, and is unlikely to do so now for his governments cock-ups.

Pauliar,

Given your wild reaction to the crisis in NSW with the new hyper contagious Delta strain, I assume that you would support the firing of all Victorian Ministers responsible for the vastly greater cock up and deaths starting with the moronic Dan Andrews?

shonkyminister,

Do you not recall the Victorian health Minister Jenny Mikakos resigned at that time following an independent inquiry. Dan Andrews took responsibility and through the decisive action of a hard 'lockdown' the virus ws brought under control. Of course like always Morrison failed to take any responsibility for the hundreds of deaths in private aged care which is a FEDERAL responsibility.

We had the clown, NSW Health Minister, The Hazzard, last week calling for a "let it rip" policy towards the delta virus. This would result in millions infected, and thousands of deaths. Gladys was quick to shut that nonsense down, she had no alternative. Then when pressed as to what is "essential work" the bloke was clueless, had no idea, eventually said something about employees and employers can work that one out for themselves, but no going to work unless its "essential". We then had the comical farce of the top three dudes of "virus control" in NSW Berejiklian, Hazzard and Chant trying to correct each other as to what "essential work" meant. Warning; Heaven help the people of Sydney, New South Wales and then Australia with these clowns in control. Throw in Morrison and co, and the circus is complete!

Pauliar,

What bollocks. Mikakos was thrown under the bus for the quarantine cock up by Dan Andrews who claimed she was responsible when she had nothing to do with the union based labour-hire companies (Dan's mates) that were awarded the contract without tender.

To quote her:

"The Coate inquiry has failed to answer key questions. I believe Victorians deserve to know the truth about an event that has so profoundly impacted them," she said.

"They do not need another masterclass in political deflection from the Premier."

So while NSW is in their 2nd lockdown Victoria is entering its 4th.

This sums it up:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1416290828876587008

shadowminister,

Well no, for Victorians this sums it up far better.

http://m.facebook.com/groups/457796698513891/permalink/640944180199141/

With NSW in hard 'lockdown' and with over 1,000 Covid cases and 3 dead. Gladys is still calling for "common sense", she has also taken the drastic step of closing the Gucci store. No more throngs of her supporters out there crowding into Gucci to get the latest $10,000 designer handbags. Shonky what will you do now?

The cause of this catastrophe and it spread interstate was NSW Health when the so called 'Mr Limo Driver' was cruising around town with no PPE or vaccination (ask Scotty about that one), carrying high risk flight crew. has the Minister Brad Hazzard taken responsibility and resigned? NO!

The Liberals are sweeping their cock-up under the carpet!

Pauliar,

After Victoria enters its 5th lockdown with 90% of Australia's deaths from a cocked up quarantine system run by Dan Andrew's incompetent union buddies, NSW is still way better.

Would you vote for this turd? Barnyard Joy the Deputy PM gave a grovelling apology for his comment on the Melbourne Covid-19 outbreak;

"I can smell the flesh burning already." the reprobate said.

What a grub!

Quick action by the Andrews government is giving Victoria a fighting chance of controlling the virus. This is despite Morrisons shambolic vaccine roll-out which has left Australia exposed to the possibly of thousands of deaths from infection.

NSW is in a grim situation with several deaths and more than 1,000 infected, due firstly to the Coalition governments cock-up by Hazzards Dept with "Mr Limo Driver". Then Berejiklian pandered to her cronies in business and failed to introduce a 'lockdown' in time.

NOT A GOOD LOOK!

We're all in this together, Annastacia Palaszczuk has gone off to Tokyo with Brisbane's LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Federal Liberal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, to tout the bonafides of Brisbane as the host city for the Olympics in 2032, or some such time in the future. Normally most would shrug it off as another junket for a bunch of pollies. Well with Covet-19 preventing many Aussie from returning from OS as they desperatly want to, or making trips to see or farewell loved ones in other places, all I can say is the general perception of this trip is NOT A GOOD LOOK. Just in the way Morrison's trip to Britain for the G7 and a half meeting, Australia being the half, wasn't a good look as well.

p/s Schrinner must be a real turkey, he's been posting pic of Mt Fuji on the internet. Next thing you know they will be posting pic of their day out at Tokyo's Disneyworld.

Pauliar,

This is a typical example of your mendacity. Palaszczuk has taken an entourage of mostly Labor flunkies along to the Olympics and you are whinging about the LNP Mayor that is tagging along.

Full of BS as usual. I see Victoria under Dan Andrews is in the sh1t again.

PS.

shonkyminister,

Victoria with its NSW exported virus is nowhere near in the shocking mess that Gladys has created in her state, along with that fool of a Health Minister The Hazzard, and his waving off of "Mr Limo Driver" with a car load of the infected, poor "Mr Limo" wasn't even given PPE or a vaccination. Cock-Up Morrison has made some halfheartherd apology for his governments incompetent vaccine roll-out, several dead already from that.

Pauliar,

Amongst Vic Labor's many covid cock-ups it managed to export covid to NSW several times and NSW liberals sorted it out without lockdowns.
That lockdowns work is not in dispute, but so does contact tracing etc without the economic devastation.

NSW is so far ahead of Victoria that they can hardly be compared.