Australia's extreme response to the Covid-19 virus…
Melbourne, Tuesday,
The "lucky Country" is no longer looking so lucky! Two years into the Covid health crisis, Australia is becoming more and more like an open-air prison. The Buffalo Post has reported on some of the hardest lockdowns in the world from Macron's in France to Sanches' in Spain but restrictions in some of Australia's states are probably the harshest of all.
Police have used drones, horses, road checkpoints, helicopters and counter-terrorism vehicles to "enforce health rules". In Sydney, Australian Defence Force troops have been used to enforce the lockdown.
In Melbourne, protests came to a head on October 29, 2021, when thousands marched to protest a new pandemic bill. Dan Andrews' Labor Government plans two years in jail or a $90,000 fine for anyone who 'intentionally and recklessly' violates a public health order, related to the pandemic - such as leaving their homes or not wearing a mask. Businesses face crippling fines of $455,000. Even small children will receive fines if they fail to wear a face mask. For those under 15, the fine is $40, for those between 15 and 18, it’s doubled.
Australians across the country have been hit with millions of dollars in fines for breaching Covid health orders, the bulk of which for failing to wear a face mask. Ironically, in July this year, NSW Health admitted that there had not been a single confirmed case of outdoor transmission.
In Melbourne, peaceful protests against the bill were met with armored vehicles and rubber bullets.
Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick told the crowd:
Australians across the country have been hit with millions of dollars in fines for breaching Covid health orders, the bulk of which for failing to wear a face mask. Ironically, in July this year, NSW Health admitted that there had not been a single confirmed case of outdoor transmission.
In Melbourne, peaceful protests against the bill were met with armored vehicles and rubber bullets.
Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick told the crowd:
"The government is introducing new legislation to get more power. But who would trust the government with more power? We've seen how they've used the power over the last 20 months. They've locked us in our homes. They told us that vaccines wouldn't be mandatory. Then they told us that we'd lose our jobs. We cannot let this Bill pass."
Australia's sparsely populated Northern Territory — home to just under 250,000 people and just 223 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with no deaths, is also set to implement some of the world's most strict vaccine mandates on November 12, with those who fail to comply facing fines of $5,000.
In South Australia, residents are forced to download a quarantine app that randomly demands a picture proving they are at home.
In South Australia, residents are forced to download a quarantine app that randomly demands a picture proving they are at home.
In Western Australia, Premier Mark McGowan has floated the idea of attaching police ankle bracelets to enforce the quarantine.
However, just across the border in New South Wales, New Liberal Premier Perrottet plans to end the health emergency on December 1, even for "the unvaccinated".
Movement between states is forbidden. This has led to well-documented cases of people dying - including one tragic case involving four young babies unable to reach a hospital.
And if before 2020, the idea of Australia all but forbidding its citizens from leaving the country, a restriction associated with Communist regimes, was unthinkable, today, it is a widely accepted policy.
However, just across the border in New South Wales, New Liberal Premier Perrottet plans to end the health emergency on December 1, even for "the unvaccinated".
Movement between states is forbidden. This has led to well-documented cases of people dying - including one tragic case involving four young babies unable to reach a hospital.
And if before 2020, the idea of Australia all but forbidding its citizens from leaving the country, a restriction associated with Communist regimes, was unthinkable, today, it is a widely accepted policy.
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