Run a hub out of Perth plus every club gets to experience being the designated home team with Arena home cooking.

When will it be 'safe'. Gonna have to learn to live with it.

People need to get vaxed, it's a simple as that. Wishful thinking that WA/SA/QLD/et al will remain covid free - there's no place in the world that will. Premiers in other states should be doing what the NSW/Vic Premiers failed to do, which is get the vax numbers rising without cases running rampant in the state.

WA must be smoking alot of weed if they think they are going to be able to control it once the international borders open.

"COVID zero on an Island like Australia is not unrealisitic. Just means locking out NSW and now Vic. Easy."

And, you know, everywhere else on the planet for the foreseeable future. Good plan.

I think the NBL season will start as scheduled. The worst case scenario would be a bubble setup if the situation is too bad, but for me, the games would still be home and away without crowds.

The NBA last year started in December and their vaccination roll out at that time was just starting. I am not an Australian, so I don't know the situation like you guys in there, but looking at your numbers, 31.5 % of the population is vaccinated. As long as the protocols are in place, it is going to start, unless your government will not allow you to.

The B league 2020-2021 season started last year in November, despite the fact that vaccines were not available. They had a home and away format, and some games even had crowds. 20 Division 1 teams and 16 Division 2 teams had a full season with each team playing more than 50 games.

https://www.bleague.jp/standings/?tab=2&year=2020

At this stage, one player or even half the team getting covid will not change things.

Barring any underlying health issues these fit young men should all recover well before the season starts.

Melbourne United got it last season and the won the title so this is a good omen.

The big issue is NSW, VIC and NZ. Well done to QLD for dodging the bullet. ACT is just barely holding on.

Even if 80% is hit, NZ can forget about travelling to and from Australia.

NSW and VIC can 'stop looking' at the daily infections and those in the community all they want, the other states won't.

The NBA last year started in December and their vaccination roll out at that time was just starting.

It's G league and it was played in a bubble over a few months.

"The only ones who have destroyed the economy are Scomo for his failed quaratine system (or any system at all) and NSW Libs for putting business before people, which in turn put both in the can."

Why did you blatantly forget to put Dan Andrews (Labor) in? Even he apologised for the shit job he did.

A few United players got it last year and they won the league. Kings confirmed NBL champions for 2022

90% average of All Australians double vaxxed is 7 Dec 21

some states are obviously WAY behind this figure

but that is the AVERAGE

NSW - 15 Nov
VIC- 23 Dec
QLD- 24 Dec
WA- 23 Dec
SA - 23 Dec
TAS - 7 Dec
ACT - 9 Nov
NT- 16 Dec

averages above on current 7 day trend for vaccinations

this far out from the season i dont see it being an issue

Most of Melbourne United's team caught covid last year.

A player testing positive makes no difference to the league or start dates.

It is interesting that NSW/VIC are now in a "covid management" phase while the other states are clinging to covid zero.

McGowan, Paluscuk etc have staked their political brands on keeping their states Covid free. But eventually, they'll realise that's no longer tenable.

Whenever international travel opens up, will be when the remaining states lose their idealism. Their citizens will start demanding international travel too. And the politicians will realise Victorians etc are spending their covid savings on overseas holidays instead of QLD, Tassie etc.

It's inevitable that all of Australia gets into a covid management phase. Hard to say exactly how long that takes though.

Run the hub out of the best state in the country. You know the saying. Two heads are better than one.

Whenever international travel opens up, will be when the remaining states lose their idealism. Their citizens will start demanding international travel too. And the politicians will realise Victorians etc are spending their covid savings on overseas holidays instead of QLD, Tassie etc.

It was a reasonable plan.

But it will absolutely become idealistic and unhelpful - if they try to maintain it longer than necessary after significant people are vaccinated. Which based on some recent comments, is a strong possibility.

Likely, I should say. Not just a possibility.

Australia is now split into 2, or 8, depending how you slice it. Not much of a unified Federation. If McGowan et al ignore the plan agreed by National Cabinet the whole situation will be messy. And who knows what it might mean for the NBL season.

LV, still not understanding why I should view that negatively if I'm from one of those other states. For the period in the books, it's proven a decent path. You're pre-judging a future scenario as though there's some plan set in stone.

I barely follow all of this but last I paid attention, the PM wanted the concrete plan (based on vax percentages) in the interest of his political future while other states were suggesting that locking in a strategy in the face of a changing playing field didn't make sense. I'd favour the flexible side, and doubly so when the PM has botched everything coming his way (on a platter, no less).

They could maintain status quo in SA for another year and I wouldn't be overly perturbed, though I'm sure it's rougher for some industries.

Well eventually Covid will come in to South Australia, in large numbers. It's just a matter of when.

Are you happy taking a brand new, not-yet-fully-approved vaccine to reduce your chances of catching and spreading a virus, yet not even be afforded the opportunity to travel freely around Australia?

If they wait a year as you've suggested, people will be having their 4th covid vaccine by then. For what purpose? If there's no covid cos your government's intent on wrapping you in cotton wool, hurting your tourist economy in the process, why would you bother with the vaccine?

If South Australia et al are silly enough to continue a commitment to zero covid well into next year, it'll just result in the continuation of the pre-pandemic tide of people flowing from SA into Victoria. People won't want to live in a place where they can't freely travel.

Here's an example of what I'm referring to Isaac

[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/02/childrens-risk-from-covid-is-low-australian-health-chief-says-after-queensland-premier-raises-concerns

"Unless there is an answer on how these young people are going to be vaccinated you are putting this most vulnerable population at risk," Palaszczuk said on Thursday. “You open up this state and you let the virus in here and every child under 12 is vulnerable, every single child.”

The premier pledged to “stand strong” on Queensland's border controls “until I can get every child vaccinated”.]

This is not "idealism" it's really just b*tsh*t crazy.

Does this woman not realise that RSV is just as much of a threat to children than Covid (RSV is the opposite of covid- it severely affects children but less impact on adults). The RCH was full of RSV patients in Feb/March this year, but it barely rated a mention in the media.

Firstly, many parents won't want their under 12s being vaxxed (I certainly won't- even though I've been vaxxed myself). Secondly, covid is a very low risk to that age group. Yes, they can contribute to transmission, but with no vaccine even approved, why would you even be talking about vaxxing them before opening up state borders? It's beyond ludicrous.

5,000 people a month dying in NSW!?

It's not Ebola.

" You have no idea LV, just talking crap."

Yea good luck getting through to Faux Dr LV, it's the Victorian stubbornness in him lol

“ The RCH was full of RSV patients in Feb/March this year, but it barely rated a mention in the media.”

What’s the statistics?

How many ended up in ventilators/death that are under retirement age?

RSV is serious for those under 5

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2019/210/10/respiratory-syncytial-virus-associated-hospitalisations-australia-2006-2015

60,000 kids under 5 hospitalised with RSV from 2006-2015 in Australia.

What's the stats for 2016-2021

And RSV has been sweeping through Melbourne (Feb/March) and NZ (July) this year and I think other Australian states too. As kids immune systems and exposure were low due to all the covid lockdowns in 2020, the RSV that comes every year was delayed and instead caused a big hit in 2021.

But there was only a couple of articles here and there in the media about it.

Israel also vaxxed their population early this year.

Immunity was waning by the time Delta hit in August.

Israel's had 7,300 covid deaths TOTAL since March 2020, which shows how ludicrous it was to suggest NSW would have 5,000 a month. Even Sweden with zero lockdowns ever- population 10 million- had 14,700 deaths in 18 months.

Just admit it, you made a dumb comment!

LV's on the crack-pipe again.

West Australians seldom visit the rest of Australia anyway, and only a complete fuckwit would want to visit Bali at this time.
And even if they did, morons can "demand" what they want, they're not going to get it.

WA won't relax it's borders whilst covid remains rampant. If that means our borders stay shut whilst other states go through their "it's ok for X% of the population to die" phase, then so be it.
And whilst states don't control "international travel" per se, they do control the airport and are able to restrict entry. Magoo has done it before, and he'll do it again.

Keep in mind that at the slightest hint of trouble, Magoo will close the borders and put us into lockdown. West Australians will respond with the predictable "fuck this shit, keep the borders closed" and so it will be.

So seriously this is the dumbest comment I have read on here for a very long time:

West Australians seldom visit the rest of Australia anyway

You sir with all due respect are a fu*#ing moron.

[WA won't relax it's borders whilst covid remains rampant. If that means our borders stay shut whilst other states go through their "it's ok for X% of the population to die" phase, then so be it.]

[LV ignoring all evidence to suggest covid is coming to SA in big numbers.]

Above I kindly suggested the rest of Australia was being idealistic.

That was far too generous.

You guys just sound batsh*t crazy.

We're not talking about a feral pest, like a camel in the outback that you can shoot and kill. We're not talking about illegal immigrants arriving by boats, where you can patrol the borders and implement harsh policies (if you want) to ensure the boats stop.

We're talking about a highly contagious virus that's in the rest of the world and the two biggest states in Australia. One that's expected to continue mutating into different variants and vaccines will need to be created to keep up.

The pandemic will become endemic, but it's not going to just disappear.

Whether Covid comes to SA & WA in October 2021, Jan 2022 or April 2022, I don't know. But they can't keep the borders closed forever. And when they open, covid will come.

and of course, as time progresses keeping it out will become increasingly difficult anyway.

Huge numbers of Victorians are just over lockdowns now, and ignoring the rules. We've had over 200 days in lockdown.

But with 1700 trucks a day coming in from NSW, it was always going to be a losing battle eventually.

The same will apply to SA- how many workers and truckies go from Vic to SA every day?

Maybe in 2024 once Adelaide's in their 37th lockdown, the fine people of South Australia will have had enough?

Lockdowns might not always work, if variants continue getting increasingly infectious.

But assuming they keep working, are you happy doing a 3 day lockdown once a month for the rest of your life, and never being able to travel outside your sh*tty little state without great difficulty ever again?

And happy consigning your state to forever being even more of a tourist and economic backwater than it already was?

Economic and *commercial* backwater is what I mean, given corporations won't want to set up shop, start offices in your city etc, under those conditions.

[Imagine how good Australia would be now without Scomo or Gladys. ]

Written like a true partisan ideologue

Don't forget Dan Andrews and the Victorian ALP, responsible for the horrendous Hotel Quarantine bungles, leading to a 112 day lockdown, 800 lives lost, kids educations impacted, and billions of dollars down the drain.

Don't forget Dan Andrews and the Victorian ALP, responsible for the horrendous Hotel Quarantine bungles, leading to a 112 day lockdown, 800 lives lost, kids educations impacted, and billions of dollars down the drain.

We're not talking about illegal immigrants arriving by boats, where you can patrol the borders and implement harsh policies (if you want) to ensure the boats stop.

[Quarantine is a Federal responsibility. Why is that on Andrews I wonder?]

Because Andrews is a part of the National Cabinet, where it was agreed that Quarantine would be the best path forward. Yes, legislatively it's Commonwealth responsibility but all states agreed this was the best approach.

How would the Feds manage such a large program? Unless you want the Feds to send Federal police all over the country, and fly bureaucrats in from Canberra to every state simultaneously?

All states then implemented quarantine, and none of them stuffed up like Victoria.

I'm no right wing ideologue either. It's inexcusable that Hunt met with Pfizer in August after being approached in June, leaving Australia too far back in the vaccine queue. (As just one example of a valid criticism of a right wing polly).

I was merely commenting on the anon poster who mentioned Gladys and Scomo without acknowledging that it was abysmal incompetence from the Victorian government that led to the vast majority of Australian covid deaths to date, and easily the longest single lockdown.

[Sincerely,
Idiot Lawyer]

None of that was the least bit relevant to my broader point. But, since you went in that direction, wouldn't it be more accurate to say that undocumented arrival isn't *necessarily* illegal?

The act itself of arriving by boat may not be illegal, but its certainly possible for someone for whom Australia is ultimately an illegal destination, to arrive by boat.

Which was actually my intended meaning.

Should've been clear, but you seemed intent on showing off your irrelevant legal knowledge, and missed the point in the process.

And fwiw I think Australia should be generally kinder to refugees. Leaving people on Manus for 5+ years was an absolute disgrace led by the Liberal Party. A disgrace which will have lasting effects on many people's entire lives.

I remember writing to my MP about that.

(Just since everyone seems so interested in my political opinions all of a sudden).

I honestly believe an average group of year 9 students could do a better job of running Hotel Quarantine than the Victorian government and their managerie of bureaucrats.

Daniel Andrews was running daily covid press conferences, but when he fronted the inquiry he didn't have the faintest clue about some basic details of the front line operation meant to keep covid out of Victoria.

The only reason he survived 2020 is because people are so apathetic towards politics.

If any NFP or a corporation of equivalent size stuffed up something that important to its core business, the leader would be gone. Politics is just different because perception trumps reality more than it does for leaders in any other field.

Andrews might be the best *politician* I've ever seen. But he abrogated his responsibilities to the Victorian people last year. That's obvious.

Nonsense #806, what's becoming clearer by the day is the states do what they want.

You think if Gladys, Dan and McGowan had wanted to, they couldn't have jointly decided that The Feds were running Hotel Quarantine, and make that happen in National Cabinet meetings?

And anyway regardless of what was agreed, the point is Victoria took responsibility and did an abysmal job.

So this week the talk across Melbourne media (left and right wing media) has been that Victoria's hospital system might not cope with an influx of covid patients.

The ALP's been in power 18 of the last 22 years. After being health minister for 3 years then Premier for 7, and 18 months to prepare for the inevitable covid hit, I wonder what excuses Dan will have to explain this?

But you can be sure he'll explain it away, and his worshippers will buy it. He's that good, and his fans are that gullible.

Such is life in Victoria.

Joe Rogan? Nah. I most regularly read The Age. I'm a subscriber. My only news media subscription.

I guess that makes me a right wing ideologue lol.

In my job I delegate things to people constantly. Things that are ultimately my responsibility.

Once they agree to do it, I expect them to do it well. So do they.

If they make inexcusable, basic mistakes, that's on them.

But yes #811 you're right, I do spend too long on "the internet" and worrying about this stuff. Nothing I can control anyway.

wouldn't it be more accurate to say that undocumented arrival isn't *necessarily* illegal?

Should've been clear, but you seemed intent on showing off your irrelevant legal knowledge, and missed the point in the process.

Leaving people on Manus for 5+ years was an absolute disgrace led by the Liberal Party. A disgrace which will have lasting effects on many people's entire lives.

Wow, good on you KET!

Nicely done Sir.

And didn't this thread take a few turns :-)

Those 'people' were lucky we took care of them. They should have been shipped back to where they came from upon arrival.

And they have the nerve to bitch about the conditions, all the while funded by Australian taxpayers.

Those 'people' ey.

Classy.

Revealing your true colours there LB. Most taxpayers would probably have preferred them to have been settled rather than imprisoned. Can think of a few folks I'd rather ship back to where these people came from than the refugees themselves, too.

So meanwhile, & to get this thread back on track, who was the player? & has it spread to anyone else in the group?

They're never going to name the player.

They should have been shipped back to where they came from upon arrival.

LV, no issue taking the jabs. Was vaccinated a while ago.

And haven't felt very isolated from travel at all - probably travelled more in the last 12-18 months domestically than ever before, and I already travel a lot more than the average person. Did a cruise in WA (got paid to photograph and experience it), a paid cruise in SA, got paid to go on the Ghan up to Darwin, have been to just about every region in SA multiple times - over on Eyre Peninsula 5+ times recently, to the Flinders three times, etc. Loads of people here out on roads doing trips.

Good excuse to do some SA/NT/WA trips until the east coast drama subsides, though we did consider FNQ for the next trip, likely to do SW WA instead.

SA’s future path TBD. If past path was choosing between letting Covid in and copping lockdowns/thousands of cases or what we did, seems like an easy call to me.

When "Covid comes", as you say, unlike NSW/Vic, we’ll be close to 80% vax, more measures and expertise in place, etc. SA trialing home quarantine for post-OS travel. OS likely to open up to everyone so someone in SA effectively travelled within half of AU for 1-2 years while some Eastern states had massive lockdowns. LV, resorting to “backwater” lines is weak.

Just read this forum, interesting read. KET - great posting, have disagreed with you on other forums due to misinterpretation but your posts on here are spot on.

Isaac, my comments weren't really about the past 18 months.

Vic and NSW would've and should've been in mostly the same position as SA, WA etc. 3 things have screwed over the populous states, 2 of them their own fault, and one somewhat out of our control

- The debacle of Hotel Quarantine, mentioned above, that led to a 112 day lockdown and an official inquiry that tried to work out how it happened, ultimately revealing a quagmire of mess that only overpaid bureaucrats could possibly dream up.

- Gladys complacency, not locking down early, ultimately leading to NSWs current 2 month+ lockdown and leaking virus to QLD, ACT, Vic (multiple times), and possibly NZ.

- The infectiousness of the Delta variant combined with densely populated cities

A 4th issue is non compliance with lockdowns. 2 issues on this front- 1. Lockdown fatigue (which wouldn't have been as much of an issue without the initial failures leading to 2020 lockdown, in Melbourne at least) and also the diversity of Melbourne and Sydney (which is usually a strength of those cities) has potentially made public health messaging more difficult to execute.

So a range of issues.

But my point is, my comments were purely about the path out of lockdowns, rather than a critique of what SA has done over the past 18 months. Comments I've heard from QLD and WA premiers in particular make me worry they'll drag covid-zero out to a point where it becomes counter productive and just delaying the inevitable.

On the bigger question of lockdown strategy, I have no idea if covid-zero will prove the be the best strategy of dealing with covid. That question will only be examined properly with hindsight- and more information about long term effect. Sober analysis will tell us more in 5, 10, 20 years time.

I'm happy enough with how Australia has handled it, it's just a shame both the Victorian and NSW governments made critical mistakes which have reduced the effectiveness of the approach and made lockdowns longer than they needed to be.

LV, you can relax (within your 5km radius)!

Premier Steven Marshall has vowed to open South Australia's borders to New South Wales and Victoria when 80 per cent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated - likely well before Christmas.

Good move SA.

News today confirming what we already knew, per my comments above last week

https://www.smh.com.au/national/global-studies-on-long-covid-and-children-unnecessarily-worrying-say-researchers-20210916-p58s3n.html

Covid generally mild in children. 0.2% of healthy children will have several illness. The numbers who end up in hospital will be "very, very, small"

How dumb does Palascuk sound now? Some of these pollies have lots to answer for, using unfounded fear for political purposes

I guess all pollies try to use unfounded fears for political gain, but it's particularly galling that Palascuk was using fear tactics and misinformation around children's health