Mark McGowan launches a blistering attack on ‘basket case’ NSW over Covid ‘catastrophe’ as the WA premier declares ‘there has never been a more incompetent government’
- WA Premier Mark McGowan was scathing in his assessment of NSW government
- Made dramatic claim there has ‘never been a more incompetent government’
- McGowan also stated WA was ‘carrying the national economy’ during pandemic
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has brutally labelled New South Wales a ‘basket case’ when it comes to the state’s ongoing ‘Covid catastrophe.’
He then doubled down, declaring there has ‘never been a more incompetent government’ in power in a vicious swipe at embattled Gladys Berejiklian.
The explosive attack came after Mr McGowan defended his ongoing opposition to reopening his state to the rest of Australia, even when the nation reaches the heralded 70 per cent vaccination rate.
The bullish leader also claimed WA was ‘carrying the national economy’ as they have remained largely unaffected by the pandemic – in stark contrast to the current state of play in NSW.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan (pictured) has labelled NSW a ‘basket case’ when it comes to the state’s handling of the ongoing ‘Covid catastrophe’
The WA Premier also declared his state has virtually ‘carried the national economy’ as they have been largely unaffected by the pandemic (pictured, a woman wearing a face mask in Sydney)
‘NSW is a basket case economy at the moment because of the failures of the NSW government,’ Mr McGowan said on Wednesday.
‘There has never been a more incompetent government than the NSW government.
‘They learned of the outbreak in June and they did nothing significant about it.
‘And now they have economic catastrophe, they have people dying, they have hospitals filling up and they are trying to give us advice.’
On Wednesday, Australia’s business community banded together to call on state leaders to follow the national plan out of the pandemic leading into Christmas.
Signatories of the letter included the likes of the Woolworths Group, Westpac Group, Qantas, NAB and the Coles Group.
The letter called on all state governments to follow the plan originally agreed by National Cabinet as well as ‘learning to live’ with the virus at 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates.
But Mr McGowan claimed the letter was aimed at the states in lockdown, not Western Australia.
‘We’ve spoken to the business community – this is really about NSW and Victoria, and they’re very happy with the state’s (WA) management of both Covid and the economy,’ he said.
WA Premier Mark McGowan has been scathing in his assessment of the Berejiklian government, labelling its conduct during the pandemic ‘incompetent’
Earlier this week, Mr McGowan banned footy stars, commentators, fans from NSW and Victoria, and even players’ WAGs, from this month’s AFL Grand Final in Perth.
The WA capital was handed Australia’s biggest sporting match on September 25 as Melbourne, where it is usually held, is still subject to lockdown restrictions which would prevent a crowd attending.
But the Western Australian premier – who owes much of his local popularity to a zealous enforcement of border closures – said only the barest essential people would be allowed to enter the state for the biggest day on the AFL calendar.
Mr McGowan also bragged his state didn’t pay a cent to host the Grand Final for the first time ever, unlike the $20million Brisbane handed the code last year.
Perth will host an AFL grand final for the first time ever later this month with the venue shifted to Optus Stadium (pictured) from the iconic MCG due to the lockdown in Victoria