As if the NSW COVID-19 response wasn’t already a giant shitshow, Deputy Premier John Barilaro has come out and said that curfews don’t work, and Sydney’s LGAs of concerns are only under one because of a “media push.”
In a media briefing discussing lockdown measures for regional NSW, Barilaro dismissed the idea of imposing a night curfew on the regional city of Dubbo (like the state government has currently done for hotspots in western Sydney) because curfews “don’t work”.
“Curfews don’t work, let’s be honest guys,” he told journalists at the briefing.
“I mean, the reality that we went down the curfew model for southwest and western (Sydney) is because there was a lot of media push — and I can get away with saying that.”
“So the idea of a curfew is one that was put in place in an area that was so out of control and you would question its ability to work, and if you look at the numbers since we put the curfew in nothing has occurred, nothing has changed, numbers continue to rise,” he said.
“So no, I won’t impose curfews on the people of Dubbo when I know it does nothing more than hurt the wellbeing of that community.”
Sorry, excuse me, but does this mean that I, along with millions of other west/south-west Sydneysiders who have been under a 5am-9pm curfew since August 23, have been subjected to this purely so the government can look like they’re doing something useful? So they can pretend to have some control over the virus?
John Barilaro has told reporters that the curfew in LGAs of concern was imposed at least in part in response to media pressure https://t.co/6nkcGBqrYn
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) September 6, 2021
Does this mean that people in western and south-western Sydney, in areas that have higher populations of marginalised communities with lower incomes, who have been historically over-policed and under-valued, were used as a scapegoat?
What about our wellbeing??
This whole thing is even more infuriating once you take into account all the curfew-related fines that have been dished out in the LGAs of concern since curfew began. Which feels unfair and harsh if there was no real fucking reason for curfew to exist in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong, I am pro-lockdown. I think it’s the necessary move to keep us safe. But I also want NSW’s COVID response to be something that’s informed and backed by evidence, not a dick-measuring contest for popularity points that sees marginalised folks lose.
The question now is, what does this mean for LGAs of concern moving forward? Currently we are under the impression that our curfew will be in place for the foreseeable future, but if there’s no evidence that curfews even work, and people’s wellbeing and mental health is potentially on the line, will NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian reconsider it?
I hope we get answers soon, because right now it feels like certain areas of Sydney have been targeted and punished at disproportionate rates compared to others.
