The Peninsula Business Chamber continues its campaign for the Central Coast to be released from lockdown at the same time as Newcastle – which could be within the next week.
Chamber President, Matthew Wales, said the local business community could see no reason to prolong the lockdown of Central Coast as part of the NSW Government’s response to an ongoing outbreak of the Delta strain of COVID-19 in Greater Sydney.
“The NSW Government is just using the Central Coast as a safety net,” Wales said.
“The trains continue to be on Sunday timetables so very few people are travelling into Sydney at the moment and the trickle of cars on the freeway are probably essential workers who need to be going in,” he said.
According to the Chamber, the best way to keep the Coast as free as possible of COVID community transmission would be to create a soft border at the Hawkesbury River.
“Police could conduct random pull-overs of cars based on number plate checks and it would only take a couple of $1000 fines for people to get the message that they cannot come from Sydney to the Coast,” Wales said.
He also said it was “ridiculous” and a double standard that Sydney residents were allowed to travel to the Central Coast to stay in their holiday home or second residence.
“The idea they are not going anywhere is not sensible, of course they are going to the supermarket and other places,” he said.
“Adam Crouch has said the 120 people who went to the protest in Sydney spoiled it for everyone else on the Coast and, if they hadn’t travelled to the protest, we could have come out of lockdown earlier but if we had a soft border at the Hawkesbury River Bridge, those people would not have even gone to the protest in the first place.”
Jackie Pearson
Agree with the hawkesbury checking cars and stopping them from coming to the central coast, but you must also stop the ferry from coming from Sydney,
Blaming the people who can’t put food on the table for central coast lock down as they protested. Adam you are a clown and a disgrace. How much have you donated personally to families who can’t pay the food bill? Same goes to all the boomers who have there house paid off and gov assistance and zero dependants. You should be ashamed. Get off the couch and help finacially these people in lock down or keep your mouth closed.
These families who will have close to zero health impacts from the virus are doing it tough so you can winge about them. How entitled is this older generation.