A church in regional NSW has come out guns-blazing against Premier Dominic Perrottet, copping immediate Backlash online. A church in regional NSW has come out guns blazing against the state’s new Premier, copping immediate Backlash online. Rector of Gosford Rod Bower tweeted an image of the local Anglican Church’s billboard reading “#LetItRipDom Will Kill Us All” in response to the new Premier Dominic Perrottet’s roadmap for opening up NSW. This week, NSW announced its intentions to scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers – from Australia or overseas.
Victoria and NSW are also reopening borders to each other later this month, meaning more than 60 percent of Australia’s population may be able to go overseas from next month. The change to the rules potentially means anyone who can get into NSW will fly overseas to destinations including London, Los Angeles, and Bali and return without quarantine. However, NSW residents will still be banned from flying to places like Brisbane and Perth. However, Mr. Morrison shut down the proposal on Friday. “It is for the Commonwealth and Federal Government to decide when the border opens and sshutsainternationally, and we will do that. We are not rushing into this,” he said.
Opposition to the billboard came thick and fast, with users flocking to the post to share their thoughts. While some remained wary of new variants being brought in due to overseas travel, most appeared to be against the Church’s attack on the NSW Premier for “letting it rip”. Carrick Ryan, a former Federal Agent working in Counter-Terrorism, disagreed with the religious leader’s critique. “Usually a massive fan, but this is incredibly disappointing,” he tweeted. “I‘m not a Perrottet fan, but he is opening conservatively with high vaccination rates and allowing families to reunite. I hope you can understand what that means to so many Australians. Please reconsider your stance.”
“I greatly admire and respect you and even gave you my vote in 2019 – however, I am concerned that you are presenting something that is nothing more than baseless fearmongering. Perhaps you can explain what you‘re trying to say and why?” Twitter user Max Bradman replied. “Rev Bower, many of your signs standing up for the poor, the marginalized & the powerless are great work. But this one is horrendous. NSW is highly vaxed, and thereare still restrictions in place. But the controlled easings allow families & loved ones to reunite,” Michael Shillito said.
The #LetitRipDom hashtag has been popping up on Twitter in recent weeks in response to NSW’s reopening after reaching its 70 percent vaccine milestone, with some users still profoundly concerned about the likelihood of another Covid disaster. The altercation came after the Premier took a swipe at some of his closed-off state counterparts this week. “I think people in NSW will fly to Bali before Broome … We need to rejoin the world. We can’t live here in a hermit kingdom,” he said. Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond welcomed NSW’s announcement to anticipate a much-needed influx of tourists to restimulate the economy.
“Nobody coming to Australia for other business or a holiday or study is actively going to quarantine when they arrive. It is not going to happen,” she said. “In the first instance, this is about visiting friends and family and reconnecting with the ones you love. Secondly, it will be very much about university students and bills we need to get the industry up and running, not just ours, but the whole range of others. “And then it will be a bit more about the leisure and tourist, and hopefully by that stage, other states will have seen the light, and we will have opened borders throughout the country.” Published initially as Backlash over the ‘kill us all’ sign at Gosford Anglican Church.
