NSW is apparently ‘frustrated and annoyed’ with the rest of the country, so they will be sending their quarantine bills – worth several million – to other states and territories this week.
After borders shut across the country and each state put ‘caps’ on the amount of returned travellers they would accept, both Sydney and Melbourne took in the ‘lions share’. After Melbourne went back into lockdown, Sydney was left standing alone.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has tasked Treasurer Dominic Perrottet with figuring out exactly what the state is owed for running it hotel quarantine program.
NSW has been processing around 3000 returned travellers every week, with almost half of those coming from other states.
Check out the disgusting hotel some returned travellers had to stay in, before complaining and being moved.
The current estimate for the processing costs Sydney has spent on other states citizens is around $140 million. Mr Perrottet is expected to hand over the quarantine bills to other state treasurers in a meeting this week.
"It’s not so much the dollars; it’s the principle,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters recently.
“I get really frustrated and annoyed when Western Australia and Queensland expect us to process all of their citizens, which we do gladly, but then just think of all these excuses as to why NSW residents can’t move freely: I say to the states, you can’t have it both ways.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian wants other states to pay up.
Currently, Queensland and WA take between 500 and 700 returned travellers every week. Victoria is hoping to resume it’s hotel quarantine program asap, as it records its seventh consecutive day with no community transmission.
It seems Gladys is still taking Queensland’s border restrictions to heart, with the relationship between her and Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reportedly ‘very frosty’.
“There’s no reason, not withstanding the fact that every day we’re in a pandemic that brings its own challenges, that from the overall trend that there isn’t a single place in Australia that NSW should not be welcome,” Ms Berejiklian said recently.
Recently, the NSW Premier announced the state will be opening up it’s border with Victoria later this month, making it the first state to be completely open to the rest of the country.
Jenna Rank
Jenna has visited over 50 countries across the world, and hopes to visit 100 by 2025
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