The debate over Australia’s reopening plan is turning increasingly ugly, with one state leader claiming it’s “madness” and simply “not safe”.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk earlier this week threw a spanner in the works after demanding more research from the Doherty Institute on the impact on kids under 12 if the country were to reopen once 70 to 80 per cent of eligible people are fullyAt the moment, younger children are barred from the vaccination rollout, sparking fears among many, especially given the Delta strain appears to be hitting young people disproportionately hard.
During Friday’s press conference, Mr Barr said he hoped today’s national cabinet meeting would “put an end to the madness of media commentary and federal politicians’ commentary about 70 per cent being an acceptable number at which you can open up the country”.
“We have the latest Doherty modelling. That’s updated for thousands and thousands of case numbers and that points to an uncontrollable outbreak that is not safe at 70 per cent,” he said. And those views were backed up by WA Premier Mark McGowan this afternoon, who told the media after the national cabinet meeting that the meeting “confirmed my view that we need to have a precautionary approach on borders”.
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