Fairfield mayor slams NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and says she hasn't contacted him during Sydney's entire outbreak even though his area is ground zero for the state's outbreak
- Fairfield mayor rips into NSW government and Sydney's Eastern Suburbs
- Mayor Frank Carbone accuses politicians of scapegoating western Sydney
- He says Fairfield is 'complying' while people in Bondi are having parties outside
The Fairfield mayor has ripped into the New South Wales government and Sydney's Eastern Suburbs saying there are clear double standards and that his area is doing the 'hard yards' while people in Bondi are 'having parties'.
Frank Carbone appeared on The Edge 96.1 to talk about the local government area's ongoing position as Sydney's coronavirus ground-zero, saying banning residents from leaving for work would hurt the entire city.
He also slammed residents from suburbs including Bondi and Vaucluse, saying they have unfairly avoided criticism.
'There is an issue with the way western Sydney is being labelled. We're the scapegoat with these issues and it's not fair,' he said.
'Fairfield is complying, unlike Bondi where theyre having parties outside, we're actually doing the hard yards out here.'
Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool are unable to leave their LGA unless they are essential worker, leaving thousands of people unable to make a living
Mayor Carbone says residents of the east including Bondi have avoided criticism for their part in Sydney's latest coronavirus outbreak
'If you dont allow people from Fairfield, Liverpool and Bankstown to go to work then supermarkets all around sydney will be closing down,' Mayor Carbone said
Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool are unable to leave their LGA unless they are essential worker, leaving thousands of people unable to make a living.
Mr Carbone says stopping western Sydneysiders from working will bring a halt to some of the most essential businesses during lockdown.
'If you dont allow people from Fairfield, Liverpool and Bankstown to go to work then supermarkets all around sydney will be closing down,' he told the show.
'You need drivers you need logistics, a lot of these people come from western Sydney. we are the engine room.
'People are struggling to know if theyre on the authorised list. People want to do the right thing but they need to know the right thing to do.'
He also said the high rates of cases in the area were the result of a greater sense of community and family felt in western Sydney as opposed to suburbs in the east.
'We have greater numbers in households and a greater reliance on family support.
'The virus will spread naturally quickjer in western sydney and the numbers will be multiplied.'
One of the hosts replied: 'Yeah a ritzy person in Vaucluse can hide in their mansion and there's just one or two people living in there.'
'Fairfield is complying, unlike Bondi where theyre having parties outside, we're actually doing the hard yards out here'
Mr Carbone says stopping western Sydneysiders from working will bring a halt to some of the most essential businesses during lockdown
Residents of the Eastern Suburbs congregate in Centennial Park
Mr Carbone lamented the 'finger pointing' going on in politics, saying politicians had 'divided the city.
'Why are you putting the sanctions on our community, why are you bringing the police in when its not a criminal response its a medical response.'
He claims they only heard from Health Minister Brad Hazzard 'once at the beginning' and there is 'disappointment' and 'anger' at the way officials have handled their outbreak.
'It shouldnt be about an 11am press conference. There's anger because it started in the east and wasnt controlled and no one pointed fingers from our area,' he said.
'Once it arrived in western sydney everyone started blaming western Sydney.'
The 78 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night is down from the 98 additional cases recorded the day before
A pedestrian walks along the promenade at Bondi Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Tuesday morning. NSW Health has announced 78 new Covid-19 cases, 29 of which have yet to be linked to known cases
NSW recorded 78 new Covid-19 cases overnight - with 27 were out in the community while infectious.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday announced the new figures as she warned residents in the hotspot Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield local government areas they could be carrying the virus even if they have no symptoms.
She said more than two-thirds of the state's new cases were still being found in those three regions.
Officials also confirmed a woman in her 50s had died from Covid-19 in Sydney's south-west; she is the mother of two removalists who travelled to regional NSW while infected with the virus.
Of the 49 linked cases, 45 are household contacts and 4 are close contacts.
The 78 positive results in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night came from 62,860 tests. NSW Health said 29 of the new infections have yet to be linked to known cases.
The outbreak of infections that began in Sydney's eastern suburbs on June 16 has now reached 1,418 infections.
Greater Sydney is enduring its fourth week of strict stay-at-home lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant.
'If you are living in a community that has a lot of cases, even if you don't have symptoms, don't assume you don't have the virus,' Ms Berejiklian said.
'In communities where the virus is lurking, where the virus is circulating, you could have the virus, not know it and unfortunately take it home and give it to your loved ones.'
A worker is pictured at a drive-through testing clinic at Bondi Beach on Tuesday. Sydney is four weeks into a strict stay-at-home lockdown to stem the spread of the highly-contagious Delta Covid-19 variant
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