Hypocrisy - Thy Name Is Lisa Neville
Hypocrisy has ridden high on the ALP horse throughout this COVID-19 matter.
It has gone further with the Member for Bellarine, Lisa Neville, successfully demanding that the portion of Point Lonsdale that falls within the Geelong lockdown zone be included in the 3225 postcode which includes Queenscliff.
It begs the question as to what medical advice was used to exclude residents on one side of the street one day, and include them on another.
The Member for Western Victoria, Bev McArthur, said it’s another case of Labor hypocrisy.
“Of course, it’s ridiculous for Point Lonsdale to be caught up in the Geelong lockdown,” Mrs McArthur said.
“But so many of the Spring Street COVID-19 decrees and diktats have been ridiculous and lacking any publicly available medical justification.
“It begs the question, why is Ms Neville only taking an interest now? Is it a case of not in her backyard – but absolutely fine for everyone else to put up with illogical orders?”
More than 80 per cent of residents in the Borough of Queenscliffe have been double-vaccinated and more than 95 percent have had a single shot.
“Minister Neville has argued for those outside the Borough of Queenscliffe to be included. Does she have medical advice that shows the formerly locked down Point Lonsdale residents are as highly vaccinated as the Queenscliffe Borough population?”
Similarly, the lockdown is happening as the most vulnerable part of the community - those aged 70 years and over - are now 91.3 per cent single vaccinated and 74.8 per cent double dose vaccinated.
“On these figures, Minister Neville, should be calling for freedom for all Victorians. The most vulnerable are well above the restriction easing rates.
“This sudden rush to look interested in common sense and proportioned responses is brilliant – but baffling.
“As a Member of the Premier’s Gang of Eight, why wasn’t Ms Neville shouting common sense 18 months ago?
“Her silence has been deafening.
“Her silence has brought about the destruction of businesses – with shops shut down in the main street of Queenscliff and across the state.
“Borders have been shut, schools are shut – students struggling – parents struggling – the elderly struggling – businesses closed forever – tourism, arts and events shattered. These are the divides that go beyond postcodes.
“It is extraordinary that she would suddenly put her head above the parapet to call for an end to the 3225 divide impacts on Pt Lonsdale, while all this time – the whole state has been divided.
“If it was so easy to change a lockdown decision about one postcode – why is it so hard to help all divided Victorians?
“In reality, Ms Neville’s Government cares little for postcodes. Many postcodes across rural Victoria have not had one case but have been consistently locked down or heavily restricted due to covid-cases hundreds of kilometres away.
Ms Neville’s sudden interest in her electorate and postcodes needs to extend to QR codes and contact tracing – a system failing the people and no doubt largely responsible for the the lockdown in Geelong right now.
“If only I could congratulate Ms Neville for her outstanding leadership, care and devotion to common sense and unbiased interest in all Victorian postcodes.
“Instead, I am blown away by her hypocrisy, silence and negligence.
“It is well and good to call for a postcode to be undivided – but better to call for an end to all the division for which she and her Ministerial colleagues are responsible,” Mrs McArthur said.
22 September 2021
