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Labor leader demands answers after Brad Hazzard’s ‘stunning’ comments

Article image for Labor leader demands answers after Brad Hazzard’s ‘stunning’ comments

The NSW Opposition have spoken out about conflicting messages from the state government over the availability of face masks.

Earlier, in an interview with Ben Fordham, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard cited concerns over a potential shortage as a factor when deciding to not make masks mandatory.

“If you were to impose it as a mandatory requirement, then obviously there’s a massive demand for those masks at times when people may not need them, and that diminishes the number of masks that are available.”

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay told Deborah Knight she was struck by Mr Hazzard’s comments.

“We’ve put out 15 media releases on this, seeking clarification that we do have enough PPE … including masks.

“Now we find out that the reason they’re not being made mandatory, in this stunning interview with Ben, is that there’s just not enough!”

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has previously made assurances the national stockpile is secure, Deborah pointed out.

“Well then you’d better tell the [NSW] Health Minister that, because he clearly said … it’s a supply issue.

“I just think we need clarity at this particular point.

“We just need consistent messages.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Jobs and Investment Minister Stuart Ayres called in to clarify the status of the stockpile, accusing Ms McKay of suffering from “relevance deprivation” in her comments.

“There’s plenty of face masks in NSW.

“Our stockpiles that we have here, which we’ve developed over the last 18 months to prepare ourselves for COVID, are incredibly strong.

“We’ve also got very strong local and international supply chains.”

He reiterated that the decision on whether or not to make masks mandatory has been – and will continue to be – based on health advice.

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Nine News

 

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