Coronavirus restriction rollback overdue, says opposition

The State Government’s response to “a growing chorus of voices” in the community calling for the roll back of restrictions was not quick enough, according to the Opposition.

THE government’s decision to ease coronavirus restrictions was overdue, Labor has said.

Opposition leader Rebecca White said it had been apparent for some time that the state was ready to begin returning to normal in a bid to boost the domestic economy.

“I think over the last few weeks, there’s been a growing chorus of voices in the community calling on the government to look at easing restrictions sooner,” Ms White said.

EVERYTHING WE’RE ALLOWED TO DO AGAIN THIS LONG WEEKEND

“The government’s heard that and responded and it’s questionable about whether they acted quickly enough, given the fact we’ve got so few cases in Tasmania and we’ve got a border that’s made of water and protects people, so we can have a really strong domestic economy, supporting businesses here and to do that safely.”

Labor leader Rebecca White in Richmond. Picture: Zak Simmonds

She called on the government to make sure all businesses benefited from the return to normal.

“The easing of those restrictions come Friday is going to be welcome news but it’s still going to be a challenge for a lot of businesses to operate profitably with those restrictions in place,” she said.

“We’re calling on the government to make sure they work really closely with the industry, work closely with the workforce to make sure that they can continue to open safely, welcome customers back safely, to revitalise the domestic economy.”

Greens health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the announcement was welcome, but caution was still needed.

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“There’s always a danger that we will forget what we’ve just been through, which is why we need to be constantly reminded by the government, by public health advice, by workplaces and by each other, to take precautions. We’re not out of the woods, we are simply seeing a pathway forward. And we’re going to walk that path with the sense and the protections that we put in place that have got us to where we are today.”

She said she was looking forward to hearing when the state’s borders might reopen in Parliament.