Revelations that the harsh COVID-19 lockdown restrictions imposed by the NSW government on Sydney’s most vulnerable areas went against the advice of Chief Health Office Kerry Chant will be met with “disappointment” among residents, community representatives say.
Dr Chant recommended that “consistent measures” be implemented across all of Sydney, according to an email sent between some health officials and Health Minister Brad Hazzard in mid-August, first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald and seen by SBS News.
But despite the health advice, then-NSW Premier Gladys Berejklian imposed restrictions, including nightly curfews, on 12 local government areas (LGAs) that were far harsher than other parts of Sydney.
These regions included suburbs in Cumberland, Blacktown, Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Georges River, Parramatta and Campbelltown, Penrith, Bayside, Strathfield and Burwood.
The targeted restrictions enraged community leaders, who .
The email is among documents released under an order of the NSW upper house that highlight the health advice that informed policy decisions during Greater Sydney’s extended lockdown, which began on 26 June.
"Implement consistent measures across greater metropolitan Sydney with outdoor masks, consistent 5km rule and authorised workers only,” Dr Chant wrote in the email of draft recommendations on 14 August.
Throughout Sydney’s Delta outbreak, Ms Berejiklian insisted all decisions were based on “health advice”.
SBS News has contacted Health Minister Brad Hazzard for comment.
Chair of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW Peter Doukas told SBS News the revelation was “disappointing”.
“We’re very disappointed. It adds fuel to the fire that there were different rules for different areas based on their socioeconomic backgrounds. It’s an unfortunate revelation, and went against the spirit of integrity and community that we had throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
Mr Doukas said subjecting the 12 LGAs of concern to harsher restrictions than the rest of Sydney “exacerbated already existing tensions”.
“Those communities are the most vulnerable and they often feel unfairly targeted," Mr Doukas said.
He said it will be easiest for residents of the LGAs of concern to process the news now rather than when they were living through the harsh restrictions.
“I think people are glad that it’s over but there’ll be an element of resentment about it. I think they’ll look back at that particular time with disappointment … at the different rules that were applied.”
Cumberland Mayor Steve Christou said he is "not surprised" by the revelation, but finds it "absolutely disgraceful".
"I’ve been calling this out since day one, four months ago, that we were unfairly targeted and discriminated [against]. And, I kept saying, ‘one rule for one and all'," Mr Christou told SBS News.
"And now, to just have what we all knew confirmed ... is just disgraceful."
He said the harsher restrictions left his community "devastated", and have forced some businesses to shut their doors for good.
"I have said all along that everyone should be treated the same," Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone said.
"The targeted lockdown not only divided Sydney, we now know our area has borne the brunt of the effects in terms of job losses and business closures," he said, while calling on the state government to provide more support for LGAs that are still recovering from the restrictions.
Labor has also slammed the government for disregarding the health advice, with NSW Labor leader and member for Kogarah Chris Minns describing the revelation as “shocking”.
“This is shocking! We've just revealed that the NSW Govt. ignored the health advice of Dr Kerry Chant in lockdown. And created the two Sydneys,” Mr Minns tweeted on Monday.
Jihad Dib, NSW Member for Lakemba and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Energy and Climate Change, said residents of the LGAs of concern “were right to feel targeted”.
“The Government hated it when we pointed to a Tale of Two Cities. They accused us of being political - evidence we were speaking the truth! When the health advice said one thing, the Government did the other. We were right to feel targeted,” he said in a tweet.
“All we ever wanted was consistency and fairness; instead, we got lies, blame and a city purposefully divided.”
But Mr Christou accused Labor of "trying to get political brownie points".
"They were silent and complicit and gave the green light for these lockdowns to happen," he said.
"I’m standing at a polling booth as we speak for the local government elections, and they [residents] are not going to forget this.
"It’s something that has come through loud and clear today: they’re saying we have not forgotten the way we were treated by the two major parties."
