Perrottet: FRNSW mandate “Will be resolved shortly”

January 31, 2023

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Perrottet: FRNSW Mandate "Will be resolved shortly"

This morning, NSW Premier appeared on 2GB Ben Fordham’s morning program.

Ben presented to the Premier the hundreds of emails and comments from Firefighters and their families, and the public, calling out the outrage at continued vaccine mandates imposed upon Firefighters in NSW and Victoria.

Once again Ben Fordham called out the Premier to explain whether he runs this state or whether it is run by other departments and Commissioners — and asked him what he is doing about it to return more than 200 Firefighters in NSW to work, after being stood down without pay since December 2021.

LISTEN BELOW then → TELL BEN and PREMIER PERROTTET WHAT YOU THINK!

Ben Fordham of 2GB radio in Sydney had NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet as a guest on his show. During the segment Ben probed the premier over the vaccine mandates still in place in NSW, which still prevents trained and experienced professional firefighters from returning to work.

Ben began by noting to the Premier that the pile of papers in front of him were emails from NSW firefighter who had come to him as a last resort, after being stood down by the vaccine mandate introduced in late 2021. Ben recounted that on June 8th of last year, the Premier stated that he made it very clear that he was ending vaccine mandates and he expected department heads to implement his direction.

Ben continued to comment that Fire and Rescue NSW have not listened to him and that it was ridiculous for someone to be allowed into a fire station to repair the vending machine or fix the toilet, but an unvaccinated firefighter was not allowed into a station. Ben then asked the Premier if he was running the state, or whether it was a department head.

The Premier replied that he was on the same page with Ben, and noted that when he had become Premier he had made it very clear with every department secretary in relation to mandates ending, and that he was not aware that Fire and Rescue NSW still had mandates in place.

The Premier continued to add that when the issues were raised previously on Ben’s show, he had spoken to the Minister. He also noted that Dr Kerry Chant had since then — on his direction — met with an independent commissioner in relation to the issue, and provided updated health advice. The Premier said that he understands the commissioner is working through the issue now and that it should be “resolved shortly”.

The premier also added that he was in agreement with Ben, and that at a time where we are today, from his personal perspective, there is no place and no evidence that there needs to be requirement for vaccine mandates in Fire and Rescue NSW.

He added that there may be areas in the public service, particularly in certain areas of healthcare where mandates of various kinds were required prior to the pandemic, where that would be appropriate, and that he doesn’t see how a vaccine mandate is appropriate in areas of Fire and Recue NSW.

So I guess we are left asking ourselves why it has to come to this? Why has it gone on so long?

The Premier said himself that there is no place and no evidence that there needs to be requirement for vaccine mandates in Fire and Rescue NSW, and that he doesn’t see how a vaccine mandate is appropriate in areas of Fire and Rescue NSW . So why is there a mandate? And who is making the decisions if the Premier has already stated that of June last year he was ending vaccine mandates?

It seems there is no sense to the whole circus of vaccine mandates in general, and that really nobody wants to take responsibility for the mandates still being in place today.

Regardless, this adds little to no comfort to those firefighters still sitting at home right now, instead of out in the community serving the people of not only NSW, but the state of Victoria.