Gladys Berejiklian is considering reopened swimming pools in Sydney’s Covid hotspots after copping a grilling from angry mayors in the Harbour City’s 12 LGAs of concern.
The NSW premier agreed to host rolling virtual meetings with the mostly Labor mayors on Tuesday to hear their concerns about the current lockdown restrictions – and even agreed to seek health advice about reopening their pools.
But the ‘heated’ discussion didn’t exactly go to plan for the embattled Liberal leader, with the group labelling the talks a ‘PR stunt’ and accusing her of sowing further ‘divide’ between the east and western suburbs.
The LGAs, which include Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Canterbury-Bankstown, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Strathfield, and some suburbs of Penrith – are subject to even harsher stay-at-home measures than the rest of Sydney.
The 2.5 million residents living in these areas – which make up about half of Greater Sydney – must abide by a 9pm curfew and are not permitted to leave their LGA unless they are an authorised worker with a special permit.
Meanwhile, some of Sydney’s ritzier neighbourhoods are seeing higher daily case numbers but are not subject to the same restrictions.
Gladys Berejiklian (left) agreed to seek health advice on reopening swimming pools in Sydney’s Covid hotspots after copping a grilling from angry mayors in the Harbour City’s 12 LGAs of concern
Of the 1127 new Covid cases recorded on Tuesday, more than half were detected in Sydney’s 12 hotspot areas
‘We raised… concerns about the different discrimination that we’re feeling in the areas of concern, where the meeting got a little bit heated,’ Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour told the ABC.
‘[The Premier’s] answer to that was she was trying to protect everybody… but we just think it could’ve been done a different way.’
He argued the highly controversial curfews must be removed for the sake of shift workers and explained how residents are ‘sick and tired’ of police helicopters surveilling their communities.
While Mr Asfour said the premier took their discussion to heart and jotted down ‘copious notes,’ others participants were not so kind.
Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou said Ms Berejiklian who denied the mayors a similar meeting two weeks ago, was merely ‘paying us lip service’ and called the virtual chat a ‘PR stunt’.
‘The Premier listened to our concerns and I gave her a reality check about what is really going on in Cumberland and the shocking impact it is having on our residents and businesses,’ he said.
‘She continues to hide behind the health advice and could not offer any solutions or concessions to afford our residents the same opportunities as those in the east and other areas.’
The 12 LGAs of concern which have seen higher Covid case numbers are subject to harsher restrictions than the rest of Sydney (pictured, Lakemba in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA)
The talks got ‘heated’ when the mayors accused the premier of ‘discrimination’. Pictured: Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour (left) and Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou (right)
Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said the perceived double standard has caused an ‘irreparable’ divide between the east and the west, adding members of her community ‘no longer feel like we’re all in this together (pictured, a Covid testing clinic in Sydney’s Lakemba)
Fresh in the minds of community leaders were shocking pictures over the weekend showing beaches in the north, south and east of Sydney teaming with sunseekers as the mercury soared past 30C.
Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said the perceived double standard has caused an ‘irreparable’ divide between the east and the west, adding members of her community ‘no longer feel like we’re all in this together’.
To repair some of the damage as the city leads into the warmer months Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale demanded that pools and waterways reopen for those living in the LGAs of concern.
Ms Berejiklian agreed to get health advice on the issue, the mayors said.
‘If a thousand people can swim at Bondi Beach safely, surely a couple of hundred can swim here,’ Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale said.
Also crying foul was Burwood mayor John Faker, whose Inner West LGA has just 69 active Covid cases.
He pointed out the Sydney LGA – which takes in areas like the CBD, Redfern, Pyrmont, Darlinghurst and Glebe – currently has a staggering 843 active infections but is still not considered an LGA of concern.
Sunbathers gathered on Bondi Beach on Sunday to soak up the warm weather (pictured), sparking outrage among Covid-fearing residents
Pictured: Two women wearing face masks on Bondi Beach on Sunday. Temperatures his about 30C for the second day in a row prompting fury about beachgoers
‘It makes no logical sense why we should remain an area of concern,’ he said.
‘My community just wants to be treated fairly. We want the same freedoms as everybody else.’
Deputy chief health officer Jeremy McAnulty said there are a number of factors which determine if an area should be subject to harsher lockdown measures and deemed an area of concern.
‘It’s essentially the numbers of cases, trajectories, immunisation rates, levels of movements within those LGAs, based on transport and other data there,’ he said.
When it comes to the possibility of reopening the pools and waterway, he added that swimming wasn’t the risk.
‘It’s more about the facilities that surround that, how you get into the pool and whether you’re likely to congregate around that pool,’ he said.
Of the 1127 new Covid cases recorded on Tuesday, more than half were detected in Sydney’s 12 hotspot areas.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro is set to host a similar set of meetings with regional leaders on Friday.
To repair some of the damage as the city leads into the warmer months Ryde Mayor Jerome Laxale demanded that pools and waterways reopen for those living in the LGAs of concern (pictured, Auburn LGA in Cumberland)
Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou said Ms Berejiklian was merely ‘paying us lip service’ and called the virtual chat a ‘PR stunt’ (pictured, Sydney’s Lakemba)