Covid-19: Popular McGowan sidesteps jab dissent

Mark McGowan’s hard line border stance and his decision to make vaccines mandatory for the vast majority of the state’s workers appears to have come at little cost.

Mark McGowan continues to enjoy the broad support that saw his government win an emphatic re-election in March. Picture: Jackson Flindell

Mark McGowan’s hard line border stance and his decision to make vaccines mandatory for the vast majority of the state’s workers appears to have come at little cost to his broad local standing, despite a wave of disturbing events in recent days.

Mr McGowan’s Rockingham home in Perth’s south was the target of an unspecified “security incident” on Saturday night, just hours after vaccination opponents staged a protest outside and just days after a man was charged with making death threats against the Premier.

But fresh polling from Core Data showed that most Western Australians continue to support the Premier and endorse his decision last week to make Covid vaccinations a condition of employment for around 75 per cent of workers in the state.

When asked for their current feelings about Mr McGowan, the poll of 300 Western Australians found 69 per cent of respondents believed he was doing a good job or better. Only 2 per cent said he was doing a “rubbish” job, while another 16 per cent said the situation had gone to his head and had created a “nanny state”.

Six per cent said they had thought Mr McGowan was doing well but had changed their mind as a result of his vaccine mandate.

Last week’s decision to make vaccines a condition of work for most major industries, as well as fines of $20,000 for individuals and $100,000 for employers who breach the rules, appear to have broad public support.

Some 74 per cent of respondents also said they supported occupational restrictions on those who chose not to get vaccinated against Covid, while 75 per cent said they supported travel restrictions on the unvaccinated.

A Department of Health document released last week said WA would close its border to anyone who was not fully vaccinated from next month. While the reference was described as an administrative error and has since been removed from the document, Mr McGowan has said all states are moving towards such rules.

While Mr McGowan appears to continue to enjoy the broad support that saw his government win an emphatic re-election in March, the vaccine mandate has sparked protests and threats.

Jamon Allan Hartzer appeared in court on Friday after allegedly sending threats to Mr McGowan, with counter-terrorism police also allegedly recovering four guns from his home.

Mr McGowan on Sunday declined to expand on the details of a security incident that occurred at his home on Saturday night, but said the government would not stop trying to improve vaccination rates.

“I just want to say to all the people who object to what we’re doing, we’re doing the right thing by them, their families and their community,” he said. “And we’re not going to stop. We’re not going to give in.

“We have to get our community vaccinated, and we have to make sure that critical industries and vulnerable people are protected.”

WA is the only state without a plan to reopen its borders to the rest of the country by Christmas, with Mr McGowan having ruled out following in the steps of Queensland and Tasmania.

WA’s border remains closed to any arrivals from NSW and Victoria and will remain closed to those states until its vaccination rate reaches somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the eligible population.

Mr McGowan on Sunday said that would be sometime in the first half of next year. The decisions by Queensland and Tasmania to reopen to NSW and Victoria would require those states to reintroduce restrictions.

“They’re going to have mask-wearing limits on how many people can go to restaurants and cafes, limits on gatherings, they’re going to have limits on the number of people that go into someone’s home over Christmas.”