‘That’s insane’: Ray Hadley tees off at NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet

Opinionated radio host Ray Hadley says he almost fell off his chair in response to an “arrogant” admission from the NSW Premier.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has continued to come under fire for the government’s response to the recent testing bullrush, which has seen clinics across the state pushed to breaking point over the holiday season.

The Premier has appeared on 2GB radio all week explaining the government’s plan to alleviate stress on the healthcare system after easing restrictions on December 16.

Speaking to afternoon host Joe Hildebrand yesterday, Mr Perrottet said “some good changes” had been made during an emergency national cabinet meeting, held as record daily case numbers continued to filter through the testing system.

He said dropping the mandatory use of QR code check-ins was part of the state’s plan to “learn to live alongside the virus”, stating the utility of such measures “will continue to dissipate”.

“It’s a more balanced approach, I think. It’s an approach that suits the circumstances of the time,” the Premier argued.

“From our state’s perspective, to move away from overseas travellers requiring to be PCR-tested on return, we’ll move to a rapid antigen test there. That will alleviate substantial pressure on the system.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has stood by his decision to ease restrictions before the holiday period.

Previously, in a different radio interview, the Premier insisted he had zero regrets about easing restrictions going into the silly season.

Ray Hadley, who hosts a morning show for 2GB, subsequently called in to vent at colleague Chris O’Keefe, saying Mr Perrottet’s comments had nearly made him fall out of his chair.

“He said yesterday he’d do nothing different,” Hadley said.

“Now that’s insane! All of us make mistakes, particularly under pressure.

“And for him to say yesterday he’d do nothing different means there’s an arrogance of touch to this premiership, which is almost breathtaking.”

The Premier said part of the new approach was to focus more on the number of ICU admissions and not positive test results.

“Yes, ICU (admissions) are down, but big deal,” Hadley continued.

“The economic cost, because the boy Premier decided he knew more on December 15 and a week later, what did he do? Seven days after he made the decision, he reversed a decision he should never have made in the first place.

“I know one thing: this will cost him the premiership in 2023.”

There are 746 people in hospital with the virus across NSW, a jump of 121 from Wednesday. Sixty-three of those people are in intensive care.

Of the 63 people in ICU, 24 are on ventilators.

Hospitalisations due to coronavirus in Australias most-populous state have reached the highest level since mid-October, as testing clinics remain inundated by thousands of Aussies demanding tests every day.

Just 97,201 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours across the state compared to 157,758 on Wednesday but a large number of swabs are expected to be delayed, with residents having to wait up to eight hours in line and private clinics being closed.

It comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed reporters in Canberra, saying states and territories had agreed to narrow the definition of a close contact to people living with confirmed Covid-19 cases, in a major change that will begin in five jurisdictions from midnight.

Mr Morrison called a press conference following an emergency national cabinet meeting on Thursday to deal with the escalating situation caused by the Omicron variant.

The Prime Minister confirmed there would be a nationally consistent definition of a close contact, which would come into effect in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT from midnight.

“Omicron requires us to undertake a change of how we are managing the pandemic,” he told reporters at Parliament House.

The Prime Minister confirmed there would be a nationally consistent definition of a close contact, which would come into effect in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT from midnight.

A close contact will be narrowed to people who’ve spent at least four hours with a confirmed case in a household or household-like setting, such as an aged care facility.

They will then be required to isolate for a week – with the exception of South Australia, which will keep its isolation time at 10 days.

For a full list of all the changes, click here.