Premier Mark McGowan makes sly dig at Gladys Berejiklian after Covid-19 outbreak in NSW spreads

One Premier has taken a dig at Gladys Berejiklian after the latest Covid-19 outbreak in NSW, saying the evidence is clear his approach is better.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has taken a dig at his New South Wales counterpart after the latest Covid-19 outbreak in the eastern state leapt into his patch.

A woman who visited the Lyfe Cafe in Bondi inadvertently brought the virus to Western Australia, and so far one other person has become infected from her. Contact tracing is continuing.

Mr McGowan initially attempted to play nice when questioned on Sunday about Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of the outbreak.

Early on Monday morning, he still refused to take the bait besides saying he would have acted quicker.

“Our approach has always been far more hasty and designed to get rid of the virus before it gets a hold,” he told 6PR radio.

“NSW has a different approach, and people can judge for themselves which one works better.”

But just a couple of hours later, Mr McGowan was ready to unleash on NSW — the state where he was born and where his elderly parents still live.

Premier Mark McGowan says the debate should stop over which state is handling the pandemic better. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Mr McGowan said he would not chastise Ms Berejiklian at the national cabinet meeting because apportioning blame would not help.

“What we need to do is work together as a nation,” he told reporters.

“It is a difficult situation every state faces, in particular NSW. Who knows what’s going to happen there?

“Obviously, we act quicker than other states. This has been a debate going on now for 18 months.

“There’s columns, millions of words devoted to this discussion. Columnists write continually ‘the NSW model is better than all the other states’.

“I think the evidence is now there that moving more quickly, acting with force, taking action as soon as you can is the right model. I think the debate should stop.”

Throughout the pandemic, Mr McGowan has been continually blasted by east coast commentators, but his approach has been widely praised in Western Australia where he still enjoys rock-star-level popularity.

Originally published as Premier Mark McGowan makes sly dig at Gladys Berejiklian after Covid-19 outbreak in NSW spreads