While consternation and anxiety among Melburnians regarding the lingering tail end of the second coronavirus wave remains high, it’s been revealed that the host of the infamous Aspen Ski Trip has been permitted unchallenged air time on a major news bulletin to openly whinge about the lockdowns.
On Sunday, Channel Seven aired a short package concerning Premier Dan Andrews hinting at eased restrictions to come this weekend, despite the rolling 14-day average of new cases actually rising across the past 48 hours.
In amongst that was an interview with “business leader” Andrew Abercrombie, who was allowed unchallenged air time to speak in favour of the economically-driven plan to immediately open Victoria back up.
There’s set to be some relief next weekend for lockdown weary Melbourne with the Premier promising social restrictions will ease. https://t.co/5zYfOfohG3 @laurelirving7 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/YlmUJd0Fdx
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) October 11, 2020
The problem there, is that Andrew Abercrombie just-so-happens to be a Liberal Party powerbroker and former treasurer of the Victorian branch. He also just-so-happened to have hosted a cocktail party in his Aspen ski chalet back in March.
Almost a dozen attendees of that party subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. According to reports from The Age, one couple who attended the party refused testing in Aspen. Another couple, displaying symptoms, fled to a neighbouring villa to stay with a friend from Melbourne. That person subsequently returned to Australia and attended a 21st birthday party in Malvern. Six people at that subsequently tested positive.
One other infectious couple returned to Melbourne, attended an event at the Geelong Grammar campus in Toorak, and then travelled to Portsea and played golf in Sorrento. That couple became the subject of repeated police complaints after they failed to self isolate and caused a localised storm amongst residents of the well-to-do areas.
Abercrombie himself never tested positive for COVID and is said to have complied with all Government mandates upon returning to Australia. But the public health impact of that one Aspen cocktail party, which he hosted, remains fairly clear.
And yet Channel Seven feels it apt to turn to Abercrombie to pass comment on current lockdown restrictions.
The news bulletin itself went largely unnoticed on Sunday, however Abercrombie’s involvement has been highlighted on Twitter today by writer and broadcaster Jess McGuire.
I’m actually fucking livid that 7News would dare to put a “prominent businessman” on the telly demanding Melbourne’s Covid restrictions be lifted without any disclosure that he’s the Liberal Party wannabe WHO WAS THE HOST OF THE ASPEN PARTY THAT SPREAD THE VIRUS BACK IN MARCH. https://t.co/k1H2f22yVd
— Jess McGuire (@jessmcguire) October 12, 2020
Now, I’m no “prominent businessman” myself here. But if I were responsible for a high-profile superspreader event during the onset of a global pandemic that directly resulted in infectious cases being transported to Australia from a known COVID hotspot, I would simply shut the fuck up about public health policy.
My leg to stand on? I’d observe it to be gone.
