How far to freedom?

This month the NSW Government released their ‘Roadmap to Freedom’ which as my colleague the Member for Orange Philip Donato described as “more closely resembling the conditions of parole following a custodial sentence than it does a pathway to a life without COVID-19 health order restrictions”.

The roadmap isn’t a map is another mishmash of the Government’s health order restrictions which are confusing to community and business, and absent the actual destination at which we’ll be free from health order restrictions.

Government speak attempts to sugar coat what remains the bitter pill of endless restrictions over our lives without any definite point at which our freedoms can be reclaimed. The freedom map has also been delivered in such a way that we should thank the Premier for giving us back our so-called freedom.

There has been much frustration and scepticism about the often quoted 70% and 80% double-dose vaccination rates, which the Liberal-National Government repeatedly dangled like carrots as promise of a restriction-free life.

We now know that her 70% goal is no real freedom at all, with many restrictions remaining. The Government says they’ll open up further freedoms when we hit 80%, suggesting that we will remain subject to some health order restrictions.

Freedom doesn’t and shouldn’t ever come with terms and conditions – that’s not freedom.

Until now communities right across NSW have been generally tolerant and compliant of the Government’s life altering restrictions, but we have the right to know the Government’s vaccination threshold required for its citizens to reclaim a life of real freedom.

I along with my Party colleagues am calling on the Premier to give us a defined benchmark for the return of our pre-COVID freedom. I’m calling on the Premier to confirm that 80% double dose vaccination of the adult population is the actual goal for unconditional freedom.