‘Bureaucracy gone mad’: Bill Shorten slams ‘mixed messages’ on Omicron in the lead-up to Christmas – and has a strong message for Annastacia Palaszczuk
- Ex-Labor leader said politicians are sending ‘mixed messages’ on Omicron strain
- Followed NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet playing down state’s rise in cases
- But state’s health minister said NSW could have 25,000 cases a day by January
- Mr Shorten hit out at Queensland premier’s 14-day isolation for close contacts
- ‘If seven days does the job, you shouldn’t have to be stuck for 14 days,’ he said
Bill Shorten has hit out at the ‘mixed messages’ Australia’s politicians are sending about the threat of the new Omicron Covid strain in the run-up to Christmas.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Thursday urged Australians not to focus on daily case numbers, just minutes after his health minister predicted a grim 25,000 cases a day state-wide by late January.
Queensland leader Annastacia Palaszczuk is meanwhile forcing close contacts of Covid cases to quarantine for 14 days, despite experts saying seven days is enough.
The ex-Labor leader said state governments risked alienating their own residents with ‘bureaucratic overkill’ and confusing coronavirus rules.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is forcing close contacts of Covid cases to quarantine for 14 days, despite experts saying seven days is enough
‘If seven days does the job, you shouldn’t have to be stuck for 14 days,’ he told the Today show.
‘What people don’t want is mixed messages. We’ll all follow health regulations, so long as we think the health regulations are sensible.
‘But where we just think it’s bureaucracy gone mad, that’s what really loses people.’
Ex-Labor leader Bill Shorten (left with breakfast host Sylvia Jeffreys and radio personality Gus Worland) on Thursday morning said state governments risked alienating their own residents with ‘bureaucratic overkill’ and confusing coronavirus rules
He said Australians would be happy to follow reasonable restrictions now the country has switched to a ‘living with Covid’ strategy.
‘Let’s just have sensible regulations which do the job, not bureaucratic overkill which just drives people to despair,’ he said.
However Mr Shorten said he was confident ‘common sense will prevail’ and the Queensland government will implement fairer restrictions.
‘People hate mixed messaging, but they also hate everyone blaming and finger pointing everyone else,’ he said.
Ms Palaszczuk had initially tried to force passengers on two planes to spend Christmas in isolation, before backflipping on the decision.
More to come
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