Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant wasn’t sidelined, says new Deputy Premier

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole has refuted claims NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant was sidelined in the decision to deny Sydneysiders regional travel freedoms from Monday 11.

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole has refuted claims that the state’s chief health officer did not endorse the latest changes to the regional travel rules for Sydneysiders.

Mr Toole clarified on Sunrise this morning that Sydneysiders, including those with the new Greater Metro category including the Central Coast and Shellharbour, were not permitted to travel within the regions from Monday 11.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

The clarification comes after it emerged from an ABC report that a member of his staff shared incorrect travel advice with constituents that fully vaccinated individuals were allowed to travel to the regions on the premise that the travel was for the purpose of attending tourist attractions, such as wineries.

Mr Toole defended the government’s decision to implement the new changes and denied that NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant was sidelined in the process after being absent from the press conference yesterday.

“I had a crisis cabinet the day before and Kerry Chant was in the meeting. We don‘t make decisions without the support of NSW Health or Dr Kerry Chant. This is what we have been able to do all the way through,” he told Sunrise this morning.

“It was endorsed by Kerry Chant and NSW Health and it‘s a delicate balance, but we want to get it right.”